American basketball player Jarred Shaw is facing one of the most harrowing legal battles imaginable — and now, he’s getting an unexpected lifeline from a powerful ally.
Shaw, a 35-year-old former Utah State and Oklahoma State standout, is currently detained in Indonesia, where authorities have accused him of possessing cannabis gummies — an offense that carries the potential for the death penalty by firing squad under the country’s strict narcotics laws.
Enter John Morgan, founder of the Morgan & Morgan law firm and famously known as “Pot Daddy.” The high-profile attorney, who has spent years championing medical marijuana reform, announced that he’s stepping in to help save Shaw from execution.
“It’s unimaginable that Jarred Shaw, a young man, an athlete, and beloved son and brother, faces execution simply for taking medical marijuana gummies to relieve a painful, chronic, and debilitating condition,” Morgan said in a statement. “Nearly a decade ago, I fought to honor my brother Tim by passing medical marijuana in Florida, a medicine that improved his life when pharmaceuticals had failed. Today, I honor Tim again by working to save Jarred's life.”
Morgan, whose advocacy helped legalize medical marijuana in Florida, said he was moved to act after learning Shaw used cannabis to treat Crohn’s disease, an incurable inflammatory condition. “He should never have been imprisoned,” Morgan added. “I am grateful to be in a position to save his life and return him to his family.”
Shaw was arrested in May after authorities in Jakarta intercepted a package containing what police said were 132 THC-infused gummies valued at roughly $400. Officials claimed the items had been shipped to Shaw’s apartment, and the athlete was detained following a raid.
Speaking to The Guardian from his prison in the Jakarta area, Shaw maintained that the products were intended for medical use only. “I use cannabis as a medicine,” he explained. “There’s no medicine apart from cannabis that stops my stomach from aching. What they consider drugs, I consider medicine. It’s just different cultures.”
Police officials in Indonesia, however, have taken a hard stance. Ronald Sipayung, chief of Soekarno-Hatta Airport police, told reporters that Shaw could face “life imprisonment or execution” if convicted.
Morgan will work in tandem with Donte West, Shaw’s legal advocate workint alongside his attorney in Indonesia. West, himself an exoneree who was wrongly imprisoned for cannabis possession in Kansas, said Morgan’s involvement marks a turning point in the case.
“We applaud John Morgan—arguably the most prominent attorney in America and a true pioneer of the medical marijuana movement—for joining our team,” West said in the same statement. “His leadership, influence, and lifelong commitment to justice will be instrumental as we fight to secure Jarred’s freedom.”
Before his arrest, Shaw was a respected figure in Indonesia’s professional basketball league, helping Prawira Bandung win the 2023 championship and scoring over 1,000 points in three seasons. Supporters around the world have rallied behind him, raising funds for legal costs and calling for diplomatic pressure to prevent what advocates describe as a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”