American Basketball Player Faces Potential Death Penalty Over Medical Marijuana After Arrest In Indonesia

An American basketball player is potentially facing the death penalty or a lengthy prison sentence after being arrested in Indonesia over possession of marijuana gummies he said he uses for medical purposes to treat Crohn’s disease.

Jarred Shaw—a 35-year-old Texan who’s played internationally for the team Prawira Bandung and helped secure a victory in the 2023 Indonesian Basketball League (IBL)—was arrested in May by Indonesian law enforcement after receiving a package of over 100 cannabis gummies.

Indonesia has extremely punitive drug laws, including for marijuana, and the crime carries the possibility of capital punishment. Shaw conceded in an interview with The Guardian that was published on Friday that he made a “stupid mistake,” but he explained that he uses cannabis to treat symptoms of his gastrointestinal issues.

“I use cannabis as a medicine,” he said in the interview during pre-trial detention in Jakarta. “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.”

“I made a stupid mistake,” he said. “There’s people telling me I’m about to spend the rest of my life in prison over some edibles.”

“I’ve never been through anything like this,” he said, adding that during his first two months after being arrested, he was at “the lowest point in [my] life” and in a “really dark mental place.”

“I felt helpless and alone. I didn’t want to wake up again,” he said. “I just turned 35 but I still feel young. I would love to continue my basketball career.”

The cannabis gummies he purchased and that were delivered to him before being swarmed and arrested by police weighed 869 grams, resulting in a charge that accused him of possessing essentially a kilo of marijuana even though most of the weight was from the non-cannabis components of the edible.

“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.”

A State Department spokesperson told Marijuana Moment that “we are aware of reports of a U.S. citizen detained in Indonesia,” but that “due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”

Marijuana Moment also reached out to the White House for comment, but representatives were not immediately available, with an automated message citing the government shutdown as the reason for unresponsiveness.

So it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will designate this as a wrongful detained individual by a foreign government, which could help secure Shaw’s release as has been the case in past marijuana-related international cases.

For example, the State Department under former President Joe Biden eventually designated Marc Fogel as a wrongfully detained individual toward the end of his term, after previously resisting the move. The American teacher was serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted of “drug smuggling” over possession of a half-ounce of cannabis.

Fogel was a registered medical marijuana patient in Pennsylvania prior to the imprisonment, and after his release under the Trump administration, he’s now scheduled to advocate for cannabis reform at an event in the state on Saturday.

Ahead of his designation as wrongfully detained, there were repeated calls for the diplomatic status change, including a letter sent to the Biden administration by over a dozen members of Congress that emphasized that Fogel’s access to marijuana was “necessary to subdue his pain.”

Brittney Griner—a U.S. professional basketball player who was previously incarcerated in Russia over possession of marijuana—was also set to attend a cannabis advocacy event earlier this year. But she ultimately pulled out after discovering what she felt was a threatening message in her hotel room.

The lack of clarity on next steps in Shaw’s case, meanwhile, is heightened by the recent upsurge in anti-drug activity from the Trump administration, which has included declaring a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels that officials have used to justify attacks on ships suspected of trafficking illicit drugs.

But as President Donald Trump continues to weigh a pending marijuana rescheduling proposal he said would be decided on imminently, he also shared a video last week that touted the health benefits of hemp-derived CBD.

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.