First Press Comments from Jarred Shaw After Arrest
American basketball player Jarred Shaw faces severe penalty overseas for possession of pot gummies. Photograph: Tangerang Hawks
Jarred Dwayne Shaw, the 35-year-old basketball player from Dallas, Texas, faces a severe prison sentence in Indonesia after authorities found 132 infused gummies in a parcel addressed to him. Shaw played several seasons in the Indonesian basketball league; since his arrest he has been banned from the league for life.
“I use cannabis as medicine”, Jarred Shaw recently told British newspaper The Guardian by telephone from a prison just outside Jakarta. He told the publisher he is using cannabis as medicine to treat Crohn’s disease. “There’s no medicine apart from cannabis that stops my stomach from aching,” he says. The call is the first sign of life from Shaw since his arrest in May.
Basketball Player Jarred Shaw: ‘I Use Cannabis as Medicine’
Outside of the basketball season in Indonesia, Shaw lives in Thailand, where medical cannabis is legal. In previous seasons, he played without cannabis in Indonesia, but forced by pain, he had now ordered the cannabis gummies from Thailand. When that parcel was delivered to his home in May, ten undercover agents were present on the scene and arrested him. Shaw: “I made a stupid mistake. I don’t use it to have fun and go party. 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.”
Indonesia has strict drug laws. Shaw faces life imprisonment or even the death penalty. During a press conference, the police announced that nearly a kilo of cannabis had been seized: “We are still running the investigation to uncover the international drugs network behind this case and to stop its distribution.” Shaw is accused of possession and distribution of nearly 1 kilo of cannabis. Nonsense, according to him. The gummies together weigh 869 grams. “What they consider drugs, I consider medicine. It’s just different cultures,” he says.
In a similar case involving American basketball star Brittney Griner, there was a lot of publicity and the U.S. government took action. In Darrel Shaw’s case, things have remained oddly quiet. Until now. A fundraiser has been started to help him with his legal costs.
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Stephen Andrews
