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Jarred Shaw is locked up in an Indonesian prison – but at least he isn’t facing execution, something that appeared a possibility less than a year ago.
The 35-year-old American was a key member of the Prawira Bandung team who won the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) in 2023, the latest highlight in a fascinating professional career that had taken him to countries as varied as Tunisia, Lebanon, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Shaw did so despite suffering from Crohn’s, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease which affects the digestive tract. Like many who live with the condition, he found cannabis helped alleviate his often excruciating symptoms and would use the substance legally for medical purposes in Thailand, where he lived during the IBL’s off-season.
That was until he made what he calls a “stupid mistake” and ordered a package of 132 cannabis gummies to be delivered to his apartment complex in Indonesia – leading to his dramatic arrest in May 2025. He went from a basketball star who had scored 1,000 points over three seasons in the country to being paraded handcuffed wearing an orange prison shirt in front of Indonesian media.
Indonesia has some of the harshest drug laws in the world. Cannabis is categorised alongside heroin and methamphetamine in Indonesia, despite its legalisation for medical and recreational use across swaths of North America and Europe. That meant Shaw could have been given the death penalty for possession of just $400 worth of drugs: the country carried out executions by firing squad for drug offences as recently as 2016. Shaw never believed that his purchase of a relatively small amount would quickly escalate into a life-or-death situation. Fortunately for Shaw, he was found guilty of drug possession but cleared of trafficking by the presiding judge. The lesser charge meant he was not eligible for the death penalty. In December, he was sentenced to 26 months in jail, including time served, and given a $50,000 fine.
“Looking back it’s just a fucked situation,” Shaw told the Guardian over the phone from his prison west of Jakarta. “I wish I could go back and change my actions but it was definitely a relief to know I wasn’t getting the death penalty.”
Not that Shaw was safe. He was first held at an overcrowded prison where a fire in 2021 killed more than 40 inmates and injured many dozens more. But after assistance from the US embassy, Shaw was moved to another prison where his conditions improved. He now shares a cell with four others, as opposed to the dozen he had previously. His conditions are far from comfortable though: a lack of access to healthy food exacerbates his Crohn’s symptoms.
“The food is a really big issue for me,” he says. “I have to eat pretty much clean with my Crohn’s, but [the food’s] not healthy.” Shaw’s stomach is often unsettled and acidic from the fried food provided by the prison, which he cannot afford to completely avoid by ordering healthier options from outside. On some days he suffers from sharp pain, nausea and vomiting, and this has affected his anxiety and depression, too. “Obviously some days are better than others,” he says. “I kind of get down sometimes. I just try not to even think about it.”
In November, after six months in jail, Shaw was assessed by a doctor who concluded he was enduring abdominal pain, had mild anemia, and tested positive for E coli infection, which can cause diarrhea, bleeding and fever. The doctor also noted that Shaw was previously diagnosed with ulcerated colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease.
“When I got arrested I was 245lbs,” says Shaw, who is 6ft 11in. “I’m down to 210lbs now and it’s concerning. The proper nutrition isn’t here.”
Almost four months on, Shaw is still awaiting admission to hospital for the three days of testing – including a colonoscopy and intestinal ultrasound – that the doctor recommended.
“We’re trying to get them to understand,” he says. “Even though there’s no cure for [Crohn’s], you have to treat it, or it could get worse. Hopefully someone with higher power can at least help me get to the hospital.”
People with Crohn’s live with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, and Shaw fears that the ulcers around his colon could worsen. “I don’t know what cancer feels like,” he says. “I hope and pray that’s not the case.”
The irony that Shaw was jailed for seeking access to the one medicine that soothes his condition is not lost on him. “Cannabis helps me tremendously as far as aches and pain and appetite, and not feeling down,” he says. “It’s that it’s looked down upon like it’s something bad. I just try to stay positive.”
To that end, the Texan works out in the prison gym and plays tennis at a slow pace when his stomach is settled enough. He is writing a book about his story. “I just keep my mind busy and pretty much stay isolated,” he says. “I’m not really here to make any friends or anything like that, so I just kind of stay to myself and days go past.”
His legal team is petitioning Indonesia’s minister of health to consider a compassionate release, especially given his cooperation in court and his lack of a previous criminal record.
“I have a real condition with evidence from specialists,” Shaw says. “Hopefully it can get to the right people.” Asked whether he is hoping to continue his basketball career, he replies: “After I get my health together I’ll consider it.”
