Romanian Court Upholds Wiz Khalifa’s Prison Sentence

Photo Credit: Wiz Khalifa Instagram

A Romanian appellate court has upheld the nine-month prison sentence handed down to US rapper Wiz Khalifa for cannabis possession in the country. The appeals court has rejected the rapper’s bid to have the conviction tossed out.

The Constanța Court of Appeal deemed the rapper’s request to annul the December ruling inadmissible. The court also denied as unfounded his motion to suspend the sentence, reports Hot97. Wiz Khalifa was arrested while attending the Beach, Please! festival in Constanța County, where he smoked marijuana on stage. Prosecutors said law enforcement later found more than 18 grams of cannabis in the rapper’s possession.

Romanian law criminalizes the possession of cannabis, including that for personal consumption. Penalties for possession of the drug can range from three months to two years imprisonment or a criminal fine. In April 2024, a lower court fined the rapper 3,600 lei ($830) for the illegal possession. But prosecutors appealed that sanction, arguing that it was insufficient for the amount of cannabis discovered.

In December 2024, the trial court imposed a custodial sentence of nine months, a sentence that would replace the earlier fine. After the incident, Wiz Khalifa apologized on social media: “I didn’t mean any disrespect to the country of Romania by lighting up on stage. They were very respectful and let me go.”

What’s unclear about this conviction being upheld is whether or not Romanian authorities will seek the extradition of the rapper. He said he was willing to return to Romania to play more shows “without a joint next time,” but he could be arrested if he does so. For now, it looks like Wiz Khalifa won’t be making another voluntary trip to the country any time soon.

The Associated Press contacted Khalifa’s representatives for a comment on the latest legal developments, but they have not answered. Romania still has some of the harshest drug laws in Europe so perhaps a rapper made famous for his own cannabis brands should have researched those laws a bit more closely before attending a live music festival with his own product.