US rapper Wiz Khalifa charged with illegal drug possession in Romania

The hip-hop star was headlining at the "Beach, Please!" festival in the Romanian village of Costinesti on the shore of the Black Sea, when he got caught with the drug early Sunday, prosecutors say.

Cannabis is considered a "risk drug" in Romania, and possession is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Videos posted on social media show the rapper being escorted from the venue by Romanian authorities.

"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 (on stage) another quantity in the form of a handmade cigarette," Romanian anti-organised crime prosecutors (DIICOT) said in a statement on Sunday.

A source close to the investigation confirmed to AFP that Wiz Khalifa, together with other people, had been taken in for questioning early on Sunday.

Khalifa was subsequently charged, but not kept in custody, the source added.

The investigation into the musician is ongoing, according to prosecutors.

Khalifa often refers to the delights of marijuana in his lyrics.

Legal cannabis companies in the US have drawn celebrity funding or endorsements from known aficionados of marijuana like Wiz Khalifa and rapper Snoop Dogg, but also from actor Seth Rogen and former boxing champ Mike Tyson.

In another recent controversy rocking the music scene in Romania, US rapper Nicki Minaj earlier this month abruptly cancelled her appearance at the Saga Festival in Bucharest, citing safety concerns due to upcoming protests.

Accountants held a protest against the changes in fiscal legislation in Romania one day after her scheduled appearance, but the demonstration passed peacefully.