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When Jarred Shaw, a US athlete playing in Indonesia, went down to his apartment lobby earlier this year to collect a delivery with illegally imported cannabis gummies, he thought his medication for easing his chronic inflammatory condition had arrived.

Indeed it did – however, so did 10 undercover police officers. A video on social media depicts Shaw, dressed in a dark top and shorts, shouting for help as multiple law enforcement agents attempt to detain him.

Confronting Severe Consequences

The Texan native, aged 35, is confronting the possibility of the death penalty or a long spell behind bars. He was a key member of his Indonesian team, who won the national basketball league in 2023, and he scored more than 1,000 points over three seasons in the nation. But now he is languishing in detention before trial and faces a lifetime ban from the league.

“I use cannabis as a medicine,” he stated over the phone from his cell just outside Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. “I suffer from a chronic inflammation called Crohn’s that’s incurable. There’s no medicine besides cannabis that relieves my stomach from aching.”

When not playing, Shaw lives in Thailand, where cannabis is subject to more liberal laws. He says he previously suffered the pain of abstaining from cannabis in previous campaigns in Indonesia but says that health reasons spurred him to bring in the intercepted supply of 132 gummies this year. “It was a foolish error,” he says.

Legal and Personal Struggles

But that mistake does not justify the death penalty or a long spell in prison, he argues. “I’ve been informed I’m about to spend my entire future behind bars over some edibles,” he states. “I’ve never been through any previous experience.” In the first two months following his detention, he reached “the lowest point in [my] life” and in a “really dark mental place.”

“I felt helpless and alone,” he shares. “Waking up felt unbearable.” Yet, with prayer and his faith, along with time in a prison gym, he is starting to feel himself again even while the 6ft 11in athlete occupies a small cell with a dozen men. “I recently celebrated my 35th birthday but I still feel young,” notes the ex-college player, with experience in multiple countries. “I hope to resume my basketball career.”

Treatment Needs Versus Drug Laws

Shaw, who plays as a center or power forward, explains cannabis helps ease his anxiety and depression, as well as insomnia and the discomfort of his condition. “I don’t use it to have fun or social events,” he emphasizes. “With my stomach condition, sometimes it’s hard to retain meals or use the restroom. It just soothes some of the symptoms.”

Indonesia takes a hard line regarding narcotics and conducted executions in 2016, via shooting, of several individuals convicted of drug offenses. Over five hundred individuals – with nearly a hundred foreigners – are on death row in the country, mostly for drug-related crimes.

Law enforcement stated that the athlete messaged his fellow players saying that he would share portions of the edibles among them. “What they consider drugs, I view as treatment,” says Shaw. “It’s just different cultures.”

Fundraising and Future Hopes

Following his detention, authorities informed the media that the American could face life in prison or possibly execution if found guilty. “Our ongoing investigation aims to the investigation to uncover the international drugs network behind this case preventing further spread,” an official stated.

Shaw was swiftly paraded at a press conference, appearing with his hands cuffed 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 unjust and “disturbing,” since most of the weight is made up by the gummies themselves rather than the active ingredient. “I’m accused of almost a kilo,” he says. “My actual possession was far less.”

Shaw is fundraising for mounting court costs. He has not yet appeared in court 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 these items to sell? It was for personal use.”

Broader Context and Support

A representative from a group campaigning for individuals imprisoned for cannabis-related offences said: “Jarred’s case is not unique. Around the world, people are serving extreme sentences for non-violent cannabis offenses that pose no threat to public safety.” Even in the US, she added, tens of thousands are still imprisoned for cannabis offences despite recreational legalization in almost half of states and medical approval in all but two. “These punishments contradict global human rights norms,” she emphasized.

Possible benefits of cannabis for Crohn’s lacks extensive research but recent papers have indicated that cannabis can ease persistent pain without serious side effects. Amid this, leaders have discussed potential advantages of cannabis treatments.

Similarities exist with this case and that of Brittney Griner, the decorated American basketball player who was imprisoned in Russia for 10 months in 2022 after authorities found cannabis products in her luggage. Griner was eventually released through an exchange with a foreign national.

“He is known as one of the most generous and selfless people one might encounter,” his friend said on Shaw’s fundraising page. “Jarred made a mistake. However, it’s unjust that this should ruin his life prospects.”

The US embassy in the capital stated it is aware of the situation but would not comment further.

An advocacy assistant involved in the case said: “Cannabis can’t kill you, but possessing it can. We must get significant focus to this situation in the hope that a favorable outcome will set a powerful precedent. I am committed to ensuring he returns to his mother.”

• The Indonesian National Police offered no reply regarding inquiries for this story.