Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
There are dozens of countries that harness capital punishment to deter the flow of illegal drugs within their borders. That includes Indonesia, and former Utah State basketball player Jarred Shaw is facing a possible death sentence after being charged with the possession of a sizeable number of marijuana-infused edibles.
Most people in the United States view marijuana in a significantly different light than it was cast in just a couple of decades ago, and there are a number of other countries where the tides have turned in a similar manner.
However, that’s certainly not the case around the globe, and there are still plenty of places where you definitely don’t want to be caught with weed due to the incredibly steep price you’ll end up paying.
In 2022, Brittney Griner was thrust into a nightmare when she was caught with vape cartridges filled with hash oil in Russia and subjected to an ordeal that led to her being sentenced to nine years in a penal colony before she was sent back to the United States as part of a prisoner swap.
That was a cautionary tale for American basketball players who end up on a team in a country where the possession of marijuana is severely frowned upon, and we have an even more alarming one due to what recently transpired in Indonesia.
Jarred Shaw kicked off his college basketball career at Oklahoma State in 2009 before playing his final two years at Utah State, and he’s spent more than a decade making a living as a pro around the world during a journey where he’s played for teams in around a dozen different countries.
He was most recently a member of the Tangerang Hawks in Indonesia, which is one of six countries in Asia where you can be sentenced to death for trafficking marijuana (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, China, and the Philippines comprised the remainder of that sextet).
According to the Associated Press, Shaw was arrested earlier this month after authorities working off a tip raided his apartment and discovered “132 cannabis candies” he reportedly had shipped to him from Thailand (where marijuana is decriminalized); the outlet says he told interrogators he intended to share them with his teammates.
Shaw was officially charged with the possession of 30.6 ounces of weed, and while the death penalty is technically on the books, it’s worth noting Indonesia has never exercised that option. With that said, a potential life sentence is still on the table, but here’s to hoping he’s able to avoid it.