Once a drug dealer, Jelly Roll gives emotional fentanyl bill testimony

globalnews.ca:

fentanyl crisis on Thursday, sharing that he wants to be “part of the solution” for the opioid crisis.The 39-year-old singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, spoke during the Senate’s banking, housing and urban affairs committee hearing in Washington, D.C.The “Stopping the Flow of Fentanyl: Public Awareness and Legislative Solutions” hearing addressed the rising number of deaths caused by fentanyl and other drug overdoses.“At every concert I perform, I witness the heartbreaking impact of fentanyl. I see fans grappling with this tragedy in the form of music … that they seek solace in music and hope that their experiences won’t befall others,” he said.

“These are the people I’m here to speak for, y’all. These people crave reassurance that their elected officials actually care more about human life than they do about ideology and partisanship.”WATCH @JellyRoll615’s powerful testimony about his personal experience with the fentanyl crisis: pic.twitter.com/YgAQk3dIKn— Senate Banking and Housing Democrats (@SenateBanking) January 11, 2024Jelly Roll, who from the age of 14 spent a decade in and out of detention facilities for drug dealing and other crimes, admitted that he was a part of the problem in the past.He served time in prison for charges including aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell, according to the New York Times.“I brought my community down.

I hurt people,” he testified. “I was the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about, just like these drug dealers are doing right now when they’re mixing every drug on the market with fentanyl.

And they’re killing the people we love.“I was a part of the problem. I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a