Romanian authorities have completed a criminal investigation into Wiz Khalifa after charging the rapper with illegal drug possession in July. The investigation has resulted in an indictment of the 37-year-old, who lit a joint while performing onstage at the Beach, Please! music festival in Costinesti. He was arrested following the performance and released shortly after.
The Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism published a press release detailing the indictment, which has been sent to court for trial. The release notes that Khalifa was in possession of 18.53 grams of cannabis in addition to “a cigarette that contained cannabis.”
The day after his July 13 arrest, Khalifa commented on the incident with a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Last nights show was amazing. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the country of Romania by lighting up on stage,” he posted. “They were very respectful and let me go. I’ll be back soon. But without a big ass joint next time.”
Romania has strict laws around the use of cannabis, which remains illegal for both recreational and medical use. Just over a decade ago, it was classified as a high-risk medication. Romanian physicians cannot prescribe cannabis to patients, but those who receive their prescription from elsewhere in the EU are allowed to enter the country with proper documentation.
Khalifa, on the other hand, is not typically subject to restrictions around his cannabis consumption. The rapper has spent more than a decade building his brand around the amount of weed that he smokes. He currently operates Khalifa Kush, his own cannabis brand built around a strain of weed developed specifically for him in the early 2010s.
Under Romanian law, illegal drug possession for personal use is punishable by anywhere between three months and two years in prison or a fine for drugs classified as risk. Drugs classified as high risk, as weed is, carries a potential imprisonment of six months to three years, according to the European Union Drugs Agency. The law does not differentiate penalties on the basis of quantity.
“Based on the evaluation of the drugs user by the Centre for Anti-drug prevention, the prosecutor decides to include a user in an integrated assistance program for drug users, with consent,” the agency says of potential alternatives to punishment. “If the user follows the protocol the court can decide to renounce the application of the punishment (or to postpone the punishment).”
