Bucharest, Romania
An American rapper, Wiz Khalifa, has been sentenced to nine months in prison by a Romanian court after smoking cannabis during a live concert, a ruling that has sparked debate over the severity of the punishment.
The Constanța Court of Appeal overturned an earlier penalty that fined the artist 3,600 Romanian lei (£619; $829) for drug possession and ruled that he should instead serve a custodial sentence.
The court said Khalifa’s actions were “ostentatious” and amounted to normalising illegal behaviour, adding that the performance risked encouraging drug use among young people.
Festival incident
The case stems from an incident at the Beach, Please! music festival in Costinești on Romania’s Black Sea coast last year. During his performance, Khalifa — whose real name is Thomaz Cameron Jibril — smoked a joint on stage in front of thousands of fans.
Police briefly detained the rapper following the concert on 13 July 2024, and prosecutors later charged him with possession of “risk drugs” for personal use. Investigators said he was carrying more than 18 grams of cannabis, some of which was consumed during the show.
Sentenced in absentia
Khalifa was sentenced in absentia, as he was not present in Romania at the time of the ruling. Earlier this week, he was performing in California and shared social media posts from home.
In a public apology, the rapper said he regretted offending Romanian authorities and culture and pledged to avoid using cannabis on stage in the future.
Legal debate
Romanian criminologist Vlad Zaha said that extraditing Khalifa from the United States was highly unlikely, describing the sentence as “unusually harsh” given international norms, the artist’s profile, and the legal status of cannabis in parts of the US.
While marijuana is legal for recreational or medicinal use in several US states, it remains illegal under US federal law and is strictly prohibited in Romania.
Global profile
Wiz Khalifa is best known for chart-topping hits including Black and Yellow and See You Again and has been closely associated with cannabis culture throughout his career. He also operates a marijuana brand launched in 2016.
The ruling highlights ongoing tensions between global celebrity culture and national drug laws, particularly in countries with strict anti-narcotics legislation.
