Basketball Player Jarred Shaw Faces Possible Death Sentence In Indonesia Over Cannabis Gummies

American basketball player Jarred Shaw is currently facing the death penalty in Indonesia after he was arrested for receiving imported cannabis gummies, which are illegal in the country.

Shaw, who played for Prawira Bandung in the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL), told The Guardian that the gummies were to treat his Crohn’s disease.

After he grabbed the package from the lobby of his apartment complex on May 7, Indonesian police confiscated 132 pieces of cannabis candy. Law enforcement officials were tipped off by customs at the airport that the veteran basketball player received a suspicious airway package from Thailand, according to Ronald Sipayung, the Soekarno-Hatta Airport police chief.

Shaw said he planned to use the gummies for his condition. Law enforcement said he planned to share the gummies with teammates.

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Shaw is currently in prison, just outside Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta. He has yet to receive a court date.

“I use cannabis as a medicine,” Shaw, 35, told The Guardian in a phone interview from prison. “There’s no medicine apart from cannabis that stops my stomach from aching.”

Now he faces the possibility of spending his life in prison or the death penalty.

“I’ve never been through anything like this,” said Shaw, who has also been banned for life from the IBL.

“I don’t use it to have fun and go party,” he added. “With my stomach condition, sometimes it’s hard for me to keep food down or go to the toilet. It just soothes the pain a little bit.”

A GoFundMe was started by Shaw’s friend, Bree Petruzio, to raise money to help with his legal fees.

“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.”