American rapper Wiz Khalifa, born Thomaz Cameron Jibril, has been sentenced to nine months in prison by a Romanian court following an incident involving cannabis use during a live performance at a music festival.
The ruling was delivered by the Constanța Court of Appeal, which overturned an earlier penalty that had seen the artiste fined 3,600 Romanian lei (about $829) for drug possession.
Instead, the appellate court ordered that Khalifa serve a custodial sentence. The judgment was issued in his absence, and it remains unclear whether the rapper is currently in Romania. He was last publicly spotted performing alongside rapper Gunna in California.
The case dates back to July 13, 2024, when Romanian authorities briefly detained and questioned Khalifa after his festival appearance.
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Prosecutors later charged him with possession of “Risk drugs” for personal use, alleging that he had more than 18 grams of cannabis and consumed some of it on stage in full view of the audience.
In their ruling, the judges described the act as “ostentatious,” stressing that Khalifa’s status as a globally recognised performer, especially popular among young fans, amplified the impact of his actions.
According to the court, his behaviour sent a message that appeared to normalize illegal drug use.
Following the incident, Khalifa issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter), stating that he did not intend to offend Romania or disrespect its laws. He added, somewhat humorously, that if he returned, it would be “without a big joint next time.”
Reacting to the development, Romanian criminologist Vlad Zaha told the BBC that extraditing Khalifa from the United States was highly unlikely.
He cited the rapper’s financial resources, the legal status of cannabis in parts of the U.S., and Romania’s limited leverage in such cases. Zaha also described the sentence as unusually severe, noting that even if formal legal steps were taken, it was improbable that Khalifa would actually serve time in a Constanța prison.
The case has sparked renewed debate over differing drug laws across countries and the responsibilities of international artists when performing abroad.
