diff --git a/src/plasma/plasma_extension.c b/src/plasma/plasma_extension.c
index e441f580c..1ccdeda5a 100644
--- a/src/plasma/plasma_extension.c
+++ b/src/plasma/plasma_extension.c
@@ -109,7 +109,9 @@ PyObject *PyPlasma_get(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
   uint8_t *data;
   int64_t metadata_size;
   uint8_t *metadata;
+  Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS;
   plasma_get(conn, object_id, &size, &data, &metadata_size, &metadata);
+  Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS;
   PyObject *t = PyTuple_New(2);
   PyTuple_SetItem(t, 0, PyBuffer_FromMemory((void *) data, (Py_ssize_t) size));
   PyTuple_SetItem(t, 1, PyByteArray_FromStringAndSize(