🔗 Share this article

As Jarred Shaw, a US athlete playing in Indonesia, went down to the lobby of his residence in recent months to collect a delivery with smuggled cannabis gummies, he believed the medicine for relieving his Crohn’s disease had arrived.

It had – however, so did a team of ten plainclothes officers. A video on social media depicts Shaw, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, crying out in distress as multiple law enforcement agents attempt to detain him.

Confronting Severe Consequences

The Texan native, aged 35, is confronting potential the death penalty or a long spell behind bars. Previously, he served as a key member of Prawira Bandung, which clinched the national basketball league in 2023, and he scored over a thousand points across three years in the nation. But now he is languishing in pre-trial detention and is banned for life from the league.

“I use cannabis as a medicine,” he explained over the phone from his cell just outside Jakarta, the capital. “I suffer from a chronic inflammation called Crohn’s that’s untreatable. There’s no medicine apart from cannabis that relieves my abdominal pain.”

During the off-season, the athlete resides in a neighboring country, where the laws on cannabis are more liberal laws. He mentions he had endured discomfort of going without cannabis in previous campaigns in Indonesia but says that medical needs led him to import the seized batch of 132 gummies this year. “It was a foolish error,” he admits.

Legal and Personal Struggles

But that mistake should not warrant the death penalty or lengthy incarceration, he contends. “I’ve been informed I could end up spending the rest of my life in prison for cannabis candies,” he says. “This is unlike any previous experience.” Initially, for weeks after his arrest, he reached “my most difficult period” and in a “deeply troubled state of mind.”

“I felt helpless and alone,” he recalls. “I didn’t want to wake up again.” But through spiritual practices, as well as access to a detention center gym, he is gradually recovering even while the 6ft 11in athlete occupies a small cell with multiple inmates. “I just turned 35 but I still feel young,” says the former Utah State basketballer, with experience in Argentina, Japan, Turkey, Thailand and Tunisia. “I would love to continue my basketball career.”

Treatment Needs Versus Drug Laws

Shaw, who plays as a center or power forward, says cannabis helps ease his mental health struggles, in addition to insomnia and the pain from Crohn’s. “I don’t use it to have fun and go party,” he clarifies. “With my stomach condition, sometimes it’s hard for me to keep food down or go to the toilet. It just soothes some of the symptoms.”

The nation enforces strict policies regarding narcotics and conducted executions in 2016, by firing squad, of several individuals found guilty of drug offenses. Over five hundred individuals – with nearly a hundred foreigners – are on death row in the country, primarily due to narcotics violations.

Indonesian police stated that the athlete messaged to his teammates saying that he planned to distribute some of the cannabis candies among them. “What they consider drugs, I consider medicine,” he remarks. “Cultural perspectives vary.”

Seeking Support and Resolution

After Shaw’s arrest, police officials informed the media that the American might receive a life sentence or possibly execution upon conviction. “We are still running uncover and halt global drug networks involved preventing further spread,” a representative said.

The athlete was presented at a press conference, shown in handcuffs dressed in detention attire and face covering. He faced away from spectators as police chiefs exhibited the cannabis gummies, totaling 869 grams and valued at four hundred dollars.

He said that to charge him with possession of almost a kilo of cannabis is unfair and “sick,” since the bulk is made up by the gummies themselves rather than the active ingredient. “I’m accused of almost a kilo,” he notes. “I didn’t have anything near that.”

Shaw is fundraising to cover mounting court costs. His trial has not begun despite being arrested five months ago, and he is still waiting his initial court date. “It’s being portrayed as if I’m a major trafficker,” he asserts. “What reason would I have to import the candy here to sell? They were for my own needs.”

Broader Context and Support

A representative from a group campaigning for the release of people jailed over cannabis commented: “This situation is not unique. Around the world, individuals face extreme sentences for non-violent cannabis offenses that pose no threat to society.” In the United States as well, she added, tens of thousands are still imprisoned for cannabis offences even with legalization in almost half of states and medical approval in most regions. “These punishments contradict global human rights norms,” she emphasized.

Possible benefits of cannabis for Crohn’s is understudied but recent papers have indicated that cannabis may relieve persistent pain without serious side effects. This comes as, leaders have highlighted the benefits of cannabis treatments.

Similarities exist with this case and that of another American athlete, the decorated American basketball player who was imprisoned in Russia for nearly a year in 2022 after authorities found cannabis products in her luggage. Griner was eventually released as part of a prisoner swap involving a Russian weapons trafficker.

“He is known as one of the most generous and caring individual one might encounter,” his friend said on Shaw’s fundraising page. “Jarred made a mistake. But I don’t believe that mistake should cost him his entire future.”

American officials in the capital says they know about the situation but would not comment further.

A support worker involved in the case said: “Cannabis can’t kill you, but ownership might be. We must get as much attention to this situation so that a positive resolution will set a powerful precedent. I’m dedicated to making sure he returns to his mother.”

• The Indonesian National Police offered no reply to a request for comment for this story.