An American basketball player is facing possible execution or life in prison in Indonesia after being arrested for possessing marijuana gummies that he says he uses to treat Crohn’s disease.
Jarred Shaw, a 35-year-old Texan who helped lead Prawira Bandung to the 2023 Indonesian Basketball League championship, was taken into custody in May after receiving a package containing more than 100 cannabis-infused gummies.
Indonesia enforces some of the harshest drug laws in the world, including for marijuana. Shaw told The Guardian in an interview from pre-trial detention in Jakarta that he made a “stupid mistake” but emphasized that he relies on cannabis for medical relief.
“I use cannabis as a medicine,” Shaw said. “I have an inflammatory condition called Crohn’s disease that’s incurable. There’s no medicine apart from cannabis that stops my stomach from aching.”
Authorities charged Shaw as if he possessed nearly a kilogram of marijuana, as the gummies weighed 869 grams in total. He says this greatly exaggerates the situation, noting most of the weight was from non-cannabis ingredients.
“They’re making it seem like I’m this big drug dealer,” Shaw said. “Why would I bring the candy here to sell? It was for personal use.”
Shaw described his early detention as the darkest period of his life. “I’ve never been through anything like this,” he said, recalling feeling “helpless and alone” and at one point not wanting to wake up.
Now 35, Shaw said he still hopes to continue his basketball career, but his future depends on the outcome of a case that could leave him imprisoned indefinitely—or worse—under Indonesia’s strict anti-drug laws.
