Jarred Shaw, a former NCAA basketball standout who carved out a professional career overseas, is facing the harshest possible sentence in Indonesia after being arrested in Jakarta earlier this year.
According to Sports Illustrated, the 35-year-old Dallas native could face life in prison—or even the death penalty—after authorities intercepted a package containing cannabis-infused gummies that had been shipped to his apartment.
Shaw, once a four-star recruit out of Carter High School and a former Utah State and Oklahoma State player, was detained in May when undercover police staged a raid at his residence.
Authorities allege that the shipment contained 132 pieces of Delta-9 THC gummies valued at roughly $400. While Indonesia has some of the strictest anti-drug laws in the world, Shaw maintains that the products were for medical use to help manage Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory condition.
“I use cannabis as a medicine,” Shaw said in a phone interview with The Guardian from a Jakarta-area prison. “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.”
He added that the gummies were meant to help ease pain, insomnia, and anxiety, not for recreation: “What they consider drugs, I consider medicine. It’s just different cultures.”
Still, Indonesian police officials have described Shaw’s case as a serious narcotics offense. Ronald Sipayung, police chief at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, told reporters that Shaw could face life imprisonment or execution if convicted.
“We are still running the investigation to uncover the international drug network behind this case and to stop its distribution,” he said.
At a police press conference following his arrest, Shaw was paraded before the media in handcuffs and a prison uniform, while the gummies were displayed as evidence.
The 6-foot-11 center has been a key figure in Indonesia’s basketball scene since joining Prawira Bandung, helping the team capture the 2023 Indonesian Basketball League championship and scoring more than 1,000 points in three seasons.
His playing career also spans stints in Argentina, Thailand, Venezuela, Tunisia, and other countries. Now, with a lifetime ban from the IBL and months in pre-trial detention, Shaw’s basketball future remains uncertain.
This is not the first time Shaw has faced legal trouble tied to cannabis. In 2014, during his senior year at Utah State, he pleaded guilty to marijuana possession and served a five-game suspension. That case, however, ended with the charges being dismissed and a chance to continue his career.
Supporters have rallied behind Shaw, pointing to parallels with Brittney Griner, the WNBA star detained in Russia in 2022 for cannabis possession before being released in a high-profile prisoner swap.
Organizations like the Last Prisoner Project, which advocates for people incarcerated for non-violent cannabis offenses, are now amplifying Shaw’s case. “Around the world, people are serving extreme sentences for cannabis offenses that pose no threat to public safety,” said Stephanie Shepard, director of advocacy at LPP, to The Guardian.
A GoFundMe launched by Shaw’s friend, Bree Petruzio, has raised nearly $23,000 to cover mounting legal costs. “This fundraiser is about giving back to someone who has given so much to others,” Petruzio wrote on the campaign page.
For now, Shaw remains in a crowded Indonesian cell as he awaits his first court appearance, five months after his arrest. “I made a stupid mistake,” he said. “But that mistake shouldn’t cost me my entire future.”