Rap star Wiz Khalifa, who turned 24 Sept. 8, had more to celebrate than just a big birthday cake or blunt. The pot-loving rapper received an early, and probably his best, birthday gift on Sept. 7 when a district attorney dropped his felony drug charges stemming from an arrest in Greenville, N.C., in November 2010.
Khalifa, who had just finished performing at the Wright Auditorium at East Carolina University, was booked after Pitt County police found marijuana on his tour bus. After posting $300,000 bail for himself and nine other men, Khalifa and the others were charged with trafficking, maintaining a vehicle for sale or storage of marijuana and a misdemeanor offense of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Now, according to The Daily Reflector, Khalifa can, once again, breathe or rather puff easily after Pitt County District Attorney Clark Everett determined that the amount of marijuana seized from the tour bus — about 2 ounces — did not exceed the 10-ounce limit necessary to make a trafficking charge.
Everett also said that all other charges against Khalifa and six others were dropped after three of the men admitted that the marijunana was theirs and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges during an Aug. 11 hearing. All three paid a $1,000 fine as well as court costs.
Everett contended that had Khalifa not posted bond so early, he would’ve ended up paying a similarly lighter fine.
“The magistrate or someone at that office must have misread the statute. We discovered the error maybe two hours after Thomaz paid the bondsman’s premium and left. Because of that, it was a high price he paid for bringing the drug onto the campus. Had he remained to discover the error, he would not have been bonded so high, probably $1,000,” Everett said.
According to Khalifa’s attorney, Mark Owens III, though law enforcement’s actions may have been just, he feels his client, a popular stoner, should never have been asked to perform at the university, due to his open stance on marijuana.
“Khalifa’s preferences and musical expression existed before his appearance in Greenville. Marijuana is a large part of his persona,” said Owens. “I find it ironic that East Carolina knowingly asked him to come and then chose to take their actions, justified or not under the law,” Owens said. “If you have a problem with cholesterol and high blood pressure, you don’t ask (a barbecue restaurant) to cater your lunch.”
Well, all’s well that ends well. Happy birthday to Wiz Khalifa. May his rolling papers and “herb” never bring him this much drama again. –nicholas robinson
