Jelly Roll is not shy about his past as a drug dealer. However, just as he transitioned from a life of crime to being a family man, he is transitioning from being part of the problem to advocating for solutions. Today (January 11), he attended a Senate hearing on strategies to stop the spread of fentanyl into the United States.
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His history of selling and abusing substances gives him a unique perspective on the current opioid epidemic. As a result, he was able to deliver a passionate and emotional speech to the congressional committee.
“I’ve attended more funerals than I care to share with y’all,” he began. “I could sit here and cry for days about the caskets I’ve carried of people I love dearly, deeply in my soul. Good people. Not just drug addicts. Uncles, friends, cousins, normal people. Some people who just got in a car wreck and started taking a pain pill to manage and one thing led to the other. How fast is spirals out of control, I don’t think people truly, truly understand.”
Jelly Roll went on to say that he was not there to defend the use of illegal drugs. At the same time, he added that he understands that it may seem strange that a former drug dealer would be addressing the congressional committee on this topic. “But equally, I think that’s what makes me perfect to talk about this,” he stated. “I was a part of the problem. I’m here now, standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”
[RELATED: Jelly Roll Reflects on What Made Him Realize Music Could Be His Way Out of the Streets]
Jelly Roll pointed out how serious the opioid epidemic has become since fentanyl became widespread. “190 people a day overdose and die in the United States of America. That’s about a 737 plane, that’s what a 737 aircraft can carry,” he said. “Could you imagine the national media attention it would get if they were reporting that a plane was crashing every single day and killing 190 people?”
The Opioid Crisis Hits Close to Home for Jelly Roll
“I’ll be honest with y’all, my desire is to only get older and do better and be better. I believed when I sold drugs that selling drugs was a victimless crime. I truly believed that y’all,” he said. “My father always told me, ‘What doesn’t get you in the wash will get you in the rinse.’”
Even though Jelly Roll has removed himself from that lifestyle, he still has to deal with the fear of an overdose. However, he isn’t worried if he’ll overdo things and not wake up in the morning. Instead, he worries about his daughter Bailee’s mother who is currently in active addiction.
“Every day, I get to look in the eyes of a victim in my household of the effects of drugs. Every. Single. Day. And every single day I have to wonder if … today will be the day that I have to tell my daughter that her mother became a part of the national statistic.”
