A Romanian appeals court on Thursday sentenced rapper Wiz Khalifa to nine months in prison for drug possession, overturning an earlier ruling that imposed only a fine following an incident at a music festival last year.
Khalifa, 38, whose legal name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, was detained by police in July 2024 after appearing on stage at the Beach, Please! Festival in Costinesti, a seaside resort in Constanta County. Prosecutors said he possessed more than 18 grams of cannabis and used some of it during his performance, where he was seen smoking a large, hand-rolled cigarette while performing “Young, Wild & Free.”
The Constanța Court of Appeal ruled after prosecutors challenged an April decision by a lower court that had fined Khalifa 3,600 lei (about $830) for “illegal possession of dangerous drugs.” On appeal, the higher court convicted him of “possession of dangerous drugs, without right, for personal consumption,” according to Romania’s national news agency Agerpres. The ruling is final under Romanian law. Romania enforces some of Europe’s stricter drug statutes, with cannabis possession for personal use punishable by fines or prison terms ranging from three months to two years.
Khalifa is a U.S. citizen and is currently in the United States. Experts noted to the BBC that it is highly unlikely the U.S. would extradite him to serve the sentence in Romania, though he would face arrest if he returned to Romania or potentially other Schengen-zone countries.
Khalifa has not publicly commented on the sentence. However, sources close to the artist said “nothing is set in stone just yet” and that his team is “currently in the process of appealing the sentence.”
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