Drug Dealer Turned Music Star Urges Congress to Pass Anti-Fentanyl Laws

Jason “Jelly Roll’ DeFord, a Nashville-born, Grammy-nominated country-rock star, delivered a short prepared testimony in front of the Senate in January. DeFord spoke about the need to pass legislation protecting people from fentanyl. However, over a month later, the bill is yet to pass either chamber.

Strong performance

Jason Bradley DeFord, known professionally by his stage name Jelly Roll — Image by Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.com

Despite admitting that he was anxious because he usually had a “rock and roll band” behind him, DeFord spoke articulately and passionately about the ongoing fentanyl crisis. “Fentanyl transcends partisanship and ideology,” he argued.

Many deaths

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DeFord noted that someone would statistically die from a drug overdose during his five-minute speech. That hypothetical death would have a 72% chance of being related to fentanyl.

Increasing crisis

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According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug-involved overdose deaths crossed 100,000 in 2021, having more than quintupled since 1999. The rapid increase over the last several years has been primarily driven by fentanyl.

Dark past

Warning, whisper, stop, secret — Illustration. Image credit: Depositphotos

DeFord explained his personal history with drugs, noting that he had been incarcerated 40 times before turning 22. He had been “part of the problem,” he admitted, but now wanted “to be a part of the solution.”

Daily toll

Almost 200 people in America overdose daily, DeFord said. He compared that death toll to a passenger jet crashing every day.

Personal cost

Nashville, DeFord’s hometown, was the second deadliest metro area in the US in 2022 in terms of overdose deaths. Fentanyl was linked to nearly four-fifths of the 754 overdose deaths in the area that year.

Helping not harming

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DeFord explained that it was vital that policymakers “understand drug addictions” and what causes them, rather than “bullying drug addicts.”

Failed policy

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As DeFord noted, the drug epidemic in the US has been a problem for decades. In September 2023, the UN’s human rights chief said the war on drugs had failed and called for it to end.

Intimate involvement

DeFord told the Senate how he worries about the mother of his child, who is addicted to drugs. He spoke movingly about how he might have to tell their child “that her mother became a part of the national statistic.”

Frequent contact

“At every concert I perform,” DeFord said, “I witness the heartbreaking impact of fentanyl. I see fans grappling with this tragedy.… They crave reassurance. 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.”

Closing statement

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“I stand here as a regular member of society,” DeFord concluded. “I am a stupid songwriter, y’all, but I have firsthand witnessed this in a way most people have not. I encourage y’all to not only pass this bill, but I encourage you to bring it up where it matters at the kitchen table.”

Pending legislation

The bill in question is called the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off Fentanyl Act. It would “direct the Treasury Department to target, sanction, and block the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations, and those that launder money to facilitate illicit opioid trafficking,” according to the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.