American rapper Wiz Khalifa’s appeal to overturn his nine-month jail sentence was rejected by a Romanian court on Thursday (Feb. 26). The rapper filed the appeal three months after he was sentenced in December 2025, more than a year after he was arrested and charged with illegal drug possession in Romania.
Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, faced serious charges after he was stopped by Romanian police in July 2024 for smoking cannabis on stage at the Beach, Please! Festival in Constan?a County.
In an appeal filed last month against the December conviction, judges said that his request to cancel the sentence was inadmissible and that his request to suspend the sentence had no valid legal basis.
Khalifa’s team has not yet responded to the court’s decision.
In July 2024, the rapper was charged with illegal drug possession in Romania, where he was headlining the Beach, Please! Festival in Costine?ti. At the time, he allegedly had more than 18 grams of cannabis in his possession and consumed some on stage. Under Romanian law, cannabis is considered a “risk drug.”
“During a performance at a music festival held in the resort of Costinesti, the accused was found to have possessed more than 18 grams of cannabis and to have consumed (onstage) another quantity in the form of a handmade cigarette,” DIICOT, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, said in its statement. Khalifa issued an apology, saying that he did not mean to disrespect the country’s laws.
“Last nights show was amazing. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the country of Romania by lighting up on stage,” he wrote. “They were very respectful and let me go. I’ll be back soon. But without a big ass joint next time.” (Agencies)
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