American rapper Wiz Khalifa suffered a blow in court Thursday as his appeal of a nine-month jail sentence was rejected by a Romanian court.
The Constanta Court of Appeal’s decision came after Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, filed an appeal last month against the December conviction.
Khalifa was stopped by Romanian police in July 2024 after allegedly smoking cannabis on stage at the Beach, Please! Festival in Constanta County.
Prosecutors said the rapper was found in possession of more than 18 grams of cannabis, and that he consumed some on stage.
After his arrest, Khalifa apologized and said he didn’t “mean any disrespect” by consuming the drugs on stage in front of an audience of thousands.
He was convicted in court of “possession of dangerous drugs, without right, for personal consumption."
On Thursday, an appeals court rejected as inadmissible Khalifa’s appeal to annul the sentence, and ruled as unfounded a request to suspend the sentence.
The Associated Press contacted Khalifa’s representatives via email to request a comment on the latest legal developments, but has not yet received a response.
The December conviction came after a lower court in April issued Khalifa a criminal fine of 3,600 lei ($830) for “illegal possession of dangerous drugs.” Prosecutors appealed that decision and sought a higher sentence.
Romania has some of the harsher drugs laws in Europe. Possession of cannabis for personal use is criminalized and can result in a prison sentence of between three months and two years, or a fine.
It isn’t clear whether Romanian authorities will seek to file an extradition request, since Khalifa is a U.S. citizen and doesn’t reside in Romania.
