United States: Rapper Jelly Roll pushes for anti-fentanyl bill amidst devastating overdose crisis
Jelly Roll, a Grammy-nominated rapper and country artist, formerly involved in drug sales, is urging Congress to pass anti-fentanyl legislation targeting traffickers.
Acknowledging his past role in the crisis, he emphasized the devastation drugs are causing in the US, stating, “I’ve attended more funerals than I care to share with y’all” and describing the pain of losing loved ones.
Fentanyl, a leading cause of over 100,000 deaths in 2022, has become a critical issue.
Jelly Roll highlighted the danger of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills and urged the Senate’s Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to support a bill enforcing financial sanctions against traffickers, aiming to disrupt the drug flow from Mexico and China.
Advocating for proactive measures, he emphasized the bipartisan nature of the issue, supporting legislation from Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.
Jelly Roll expressed belief that the proposed bill could effectively curtail the fentanyl supply, stressing the urgency to act.
In his emotional testimony, he revealed the staggering statistic that 190 people die daily from fentanyl overdoses, urging Congress to imagine the media attention if such a tragedy occurred in a different context.
He criticized society’s tendency to stigmatize drug addicts, emphasizing the need for empathy.
Reflecting on his troubled past, Jelly Roll spoke about spending a decade in and out of detention facilities due to drug-related crimes.
He admitted to once believing that selling drugs was victimless, but now recognizes the harm caused to his community.
Presenting himself as a man committed to being part of the solution, he called on Congress to address the fentanyl crisis seriously.
Source-BBC
