Wiz Khalifa came dangerously close to a Law & Order: SVU-style arrest on Sunday—nearly getting picked up right on the red carpet during the Billboard Music Awards for smoking marijuana, according to a photographer present for the confrontation (from Billboard).
Khalifa, well known for his loving of puffing, showed up at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and had no intention of finishing his special cigarette while on the red carpet until a nearby police officer strongly suggested he consider putting it out. According to photographer Jeff Kravitz, who snapped a shot of the moment, the officer on duty came up to the rapper and told him something in the ballpark of "do not light that in my face again or we will take a ride downtown."
Las Vegas, like Khalifa's current residence of Los Angeles, allows marijuana to be smoked for medicinal purposes. Needless to say, the emcee wouldn't be fooling anyone if he pulled that excuse. It's possible that the red carpet security in Las Vegas is less willing to look the other way than those in California.
Khalifa's smoking habits trump those of...most human beings. He has claimed in an interview that he paid more than $10,000-a-month of his drug of choice. Later, he brought in a sponsor to pay for his expensive habit. The Cookie Factory, which is actually a dispensary for medical marijuana, apparently pays for his supply in return for marketing his "Khalifa Kush" strain as part of their line.
His habit got him into trouble last year when the emcee was arrested prior to the Soundset music festival, as he had apparently attempted to fly from El Paso, TX to Dallas with his supply in tow. Airport security didn't take too kindly to that idea, putting the rapper in jail. He managed to get out in time for his festival set, and of course used the incident as a promotional tool for his new mixtape, 28 Grams.
He's not shy about this stuff.
