The laws in the United States are complex, varied, and often incredibly confusing. In many instances, ignorance of a statute is not a viable defense. This inconsistency can be starkly illustrated by the differences in state marijuana laws. It’s okay to keep up to eight pounds of cannabis in your home in Maine, but bring even the smallest amount to Kansas and you may end up in a jail cell.
Traveling outside the U.S. brings its own set of legal variances. Whether it’s for a vacation, a job, or a new home, knowing and obeying the laws of the nation you’re in is an absolute necessity. Jarred Shaw, an American basketball player formerly on the Prawira Bandung in the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL), found this out the hard way when he retrieved a delivery of cannabis candies at his apartment complex in May 2025. Instead of getting relief for an ongoing condition, Shaw was arrested by Indonesian authorities after being tipped off about the incoming package by the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police.
Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws, which can include a life sentence or even being placed on death row, with the potential to face a firing squad if convicted as a drug dealer. Shaw, who insists the cannabis gummies were for his personal use, has taken to social media to fundraise for his legal fees. The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has yet to intervene, leaving Shaw alone to face a full-court press.
A Different Type of Globetrotter
Of the roughly 36,000 NCAA college basketball players who hit the court each year, only a tiny handful will make it to either the National Basketball League (NBA) or the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA). While they might not make it to the biggest stage of all, there are a number of other professional basketball leagues around the world that offer an opportunity to earn a living playing hoops for those with enough skill.
Such was the case with Shaw, who played at Utah State before embarking on a career that saw him playing in locales such as Japan, Argentina, Turkey, Thailand, Tunisia, and, of course, Indonesia. Shaw’s arrest has gotten him banned from playing in the IBL, but that’s probably not the most prominent of his concerns at the moment.
Shaw suffers from Crohn’s Disease, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It can be debilitating and painful, and there’s no known cure. Some treatment options work better than others for each victim of Crohn’s, and Shaw had found that cannabis gummies with THC offered him the most relief. He had no issues getting gummies in his offseason lodging in Thailand, which has less restrictive cannabis laws. However, as the rigors of the season in the IBL combined with his Crohn’s to wear the 35-year-old player down, he took a chance and ordered edibles delivered to Indonesia. He was hoping for relief, but instead he got the Indonesian police and a jail cell shared with 10 others.
Hoping for a Buzzer-Beater
Shaw is not the first American basketball player to find themselves facing serious charges for drug-related crimes in a foreign country. Brittney Griner, a star in the WNBA, was arrested in Russia in 2022 for possession of less than a gram of prescribed hash oil while playing in an off-season league. Convicted and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison, Griner served 10 months before being released in exchange for a Russian prisoner in the U.S. later that year.
The U.S. State Department has indicated that it’s aware of Shaw’s plight but has so far refrained from commenting or taking any action. Shaw has been in prison for five months but has yet to receive a trial date. He maintains that the gummies were for his personal medical use, but Indonesian law enforcement claims he had offered to share them with teammates. His drug-smuggling charges are based on the weight of the gummies, which was almost a kilo, despite the actual cannabis and THC portion making up only a tiny percentage of that amount.
Shaw acknowledges that he made a “stupid mistake” in ordering the gummies delivered to Indonesia, but he needed them for pain management. For now, his pleas appear to be falling on deaf ears as he waits for his day in court — whenever that may be — or for the U.S. State Department to come off the bench and make a game-saving play.
Related Resources
- Can You Fly With Cannabis? (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- Traveling Abroad? Legal Lessons for Staying Out of Trouble. (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- 10 Tips To Help a Solo Practitioner Go on Vacation (FindLaw’s Practice of Law)
