American rapper Wiz Khalifa has been sentenced to nine months in prison by a Romanian court following a drug-related incident linked to a live performance last year.
The ruling was issued in absentia after prosecutors successfully appealed an earlier decision that had imposed only a fine. Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, was arrested in July 2024 after allegedly smoking cannabis on stage during a music festival in Costinești, a seaside resort on Romania’s Black Sea coast.
He was briefly detained and later released, subsequently issuing a public apology in which he said he had no intention of showing disrespect for Romania’s laws or culture.
Initially, the Constanța Tribunal fined the rapper 3,000 lei (about $690). However, prosecutors from Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) challenged the ruling, arguing that the offence merited a prison sentence rather than a financial penalty.
An appellate court agreed, replacing the fine with a nine-month jail term for illegal possession of a high-risk drug for personal use. Under Romanian law, the decision is reported to be final.
Khalifa is currently in the United States, and it remains unclear whether Romanian authorities will pursue extradition or how the sentence might be enforced.
Romania has some of Europe’s strictest drug laws, with cannabis banned for both recreational and medical use.
