After being arrested in Indonesia for possessing marijuana gummies that he claims he uses to treat Crohn’s, an American basketballer could be facing death or a long jail sentence.
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.
Indonesian drug laws include marijuana and carry the potential for capital punishment. Shaw admitted in an article published by The Guardian on Friday that it was a mistake. However, he said that cannabis is used to relieve symptoms related to his digestive issues.
He said, “I take cannabis for medicine” in an interview conducted in Jakarta during his pre-trial custody. “I suffer from an incurable, inflammatory disorder called Crohn’s disease. “Cannabis is the only thing that helps my stomach pain.”
He said, “I’ve made a dumb mistake.” People tell me that I am about to go to prison for the rest of my days over some food.
He said that he had never experienced anything similar, and he added that he felt “at his lowest during the first two months following his arrest.” [my] Life” and a “really dreary mental place.”
I felt alone and helpless. “I didn’t wish to awaken again,” said he. “I’m only 35, but I feel like a young man. “I would like to continue my career in basketball.”
It was 869 grams of cannabis edibles that he bought and received before being arrested and surrounded by the police. This led to a charge accusing him of having a kilo worth of marijuana despite the fact that the bulk of its weight came from non-cannabis ingredients.
Shaw remarked, “They are making me look like a drug dealer. Why would I want to bring candy into the store? “It was only for my personal use.”
MEDCAN24 contacted the White House for comment. However, representatives weren’t immediately available. They cited the shutdown of the federal government as a reason.
The question is whether Trump’s administration will label Shaw as an individual wrongfully held by a government abroad, a designation that could lead to his release in the same way as past international marijuana cases.
After initially resisting, it was only at the end of Joe Biden’s term that the State Department finally designated Marc Fogel a person wrongfully held, after he had previously resisted the decision. The American was sentenced to 14-years in prison for “drug trafficking” after being found guilty over the possession of half an ounce of marijuana.
Fogel, who was registered as a patient of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, will advocate cannabis reform on Saturday at a state event.
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.
Lack of clarity in Shaw’s situation is further exacerbated by recent anti-drug activities from the Trump Administration, including declaring “a non-international armed war” with cartels, that officials used to justify attacking ships suspected of illicit drug trafficking.
As President Donald Trump continued to consider a marijuana rescheduling plan he had said would be made imminently, last week he shared a video that praised the benefits of CBD derived from hemp.
Side Pocket Images. Photo by Chris Wallis.