Wiz Khalifa Sentenced To 9 Months In Romanian Prison For Smoking Weed

A Romanian court has sentenced American rapper Wiz Khalifa to nine months in prison for smoking cannabis during a live performance.

The rapper, whose real name is Thomaz Cameron Jibril, admitted to smoking a joint while performing at the Beach, Please! festival in Costinesti last year.

An appeals court in Romania overturned a previous fine of 3,600 Romanian lei (around £619 or $829) for drug possession and ruled that he must serve time in prison.

However, the sentence was issued in his absence.

After the concert on 13 July 2024, Romanian police briefly detained and questioned the rapper.

Prosecutors later charged him with possession of “risk drugs” for personal use.

Officials reported that he had more than 18 grams of cannabis and used some of it on stage.

In their written ruling, the Constanța Court of Appeal said the original fine was overturned because Wiz Khalifa’s actions sent “a message of normalisation of illegal conduct” and could encourage drug use among young people.

The judges described his actions as “ostentatious” and noted that he performed at a popular music festival attended largely by young people.

After the incident, Wiz Khalifa posted on X, saying he did not intend to offend anyone

He wrote: “They [the authorities] were very respectful and let me go. I’ll be back soon. But without a big ass joint next time.”

Romanian criminologist Vlad Zaha told BBC News that the U.S. is unlikely to extradite Jibril and called the sentence “unusually harsh.”

He explained that, given the rapper’s wealth, the U.S. legal status of cannabis, and Romania’s limited ability to enforce extradition, it is very unlikely that Wiz Khalifa would serve prison time in Constanța.

Earlier this week, Wiz Khalifa was seen performing with Gunna in California, and on Thursday he shared photos and videos from home on Twitch and social media.

The rapper frequently shares images of himself smoking on social media and launched his own cannabis brand in 2016.

While some U.S. states allow recreational and medical use of cannabis, it remains illegal under federal law.

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