US Hoops Player Facing Death Penalty Over Edibles 'Mistake'

American basketball player Jarred Shaw is facing the death penalty in Indonesia after being caught with a parcel of cannabis gummies he says were to treat his Crohn's disease. Shaw, a Dallas native and former Utah State standout, made a name for himself on Indonesian courts, helping the Prawira Bandung club clinch the local league championship and racking up more than 1,000 points over three seasons of play. But after picking up a package with 132 cannabis-infused candies worth $400, Shaw was arrested in May by a team of undercover police, per the Guardian.

Shaw, 35, now sits in a crowded Jakarta jail cell, banned for life from the league and awaiting his first court date months after his arrest. CBS News notes that a life sentence is also on the table. He says he's not a trafficker, just a man trying to manage a chronic, painful illness with a medicine legal in Thailand—where he lives in the offseason—but strictly forbidden in Indonesia, per the Guardian. Authorities claim Shaw intended to share the gummies with teammates, with Shaw responding, "What they consider drugs, I consider medicine. It's just different cultures."

Indonesia enforces some of the world's harshest drug laws, including with executions—more than 500 people are currently on death row there, most for drug offenses. Shaw's arrest has drawn comparisons to Brittney Griner's high-profile detainment in Russia for cannabis possession. The Dallas Express notes that Shaw's case may not draw as much assistance from the US government as Griner's, as Shaw "isn't an icon for the LGBTQ movement or the WNBA, and therefore has less financial or political pull to call on the US government to mediate his release from Indonesia's overtly harsh laws."

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Advocates argue that Shaw's case underscores the global disconnect over cannabis policy. "These punishments run counter to international human rights standards," says Stephanie Shepard of the Last Prisoner Project, per the Guardian. Meanwhile, Shaw is fundraising for legal fees and hoping for a second chance. "Jarred made a mistake," says friend Bree Petruzio. "But I don't believe that mistake should cost him his entire future." The US Embassy in Jakarta is aware of the situation but has so far remained mum.