Wiz Khalifa was sentenced in absentia to nine months in prison in Romania following an appeal of a drug case brought after the rapper allegedly smoked weed on stage last year.
The rapper (real name Cameron Jibril Thomaz) was detained and charged with illegal drug possession in July 2024 after sparking a joint while performing at a festival in Costinești. He was released soon after and apologized on X, saying, “I didn’t mean any disrespect to the country of Romania by lighting up on stage.”
Still, prosecutors in Romania pursued a case against Wiz, with an initial ruling by the Constanța Tribunal imposing a 3,000 lei fine (about $690), per the Romanian newspaper CanCan. But the Constanța branch of Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) appealed the decision and won.
Subsequently, Khalifa was sentenced to nine months in prison for the unlawful possession of dangerous drugs for personal use. The decision is reportedly final under Romanian law.
Representatives for Khalifa did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment. DIICOT also did not immediately return a request for comment.
It’s unclear if Romanian authorities will try to extradite Khalifa back to the country. At the moment, there doesn’t appear to be any serious risk of him serving the sentence. Wiz is currently in the United States and spent about two-and-a-half hours streaming (and smoking weed) on Twitch yesterday (Dec. 17). On Tuesday night, he made a cameo at Gunna’s concert in Los Angeles.
Romania has strict laws around the use of cannabis, which remains illegal for both recreational and medical use. Just over a decade ago, it was classified as a high-risk medication. Romanian physicians cannot prescribe cannabis to patients, but those who receive their prescription from elsewhere in the EU are allowed to enter the country with proper documentation. Illegal drug possession for personal use is punishable by anywhere between three months and two years in prison or a fine for drugs classified as a risk.
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