And finally… council uses public pot for public pot

People in Astana City began noticing a strange aroma as they walked along Auezova Street – with someone eventually alerting the authorities that marijuana was being cultivated in flower beds lining the road.

Officials are now investigating whether the planting of the drug was a mere error or an act of guerilla gardening.

Mihail Malorod, a resident who noticed the plants, said:“I was walking down the street when I saw these cute plants at the junction of Auezova Street and Dzhangeldina Street.

“What a nice little flowerbed, I thought.”

Marat Asymbaev, speculating that it may have been an act of junkie entrapment, added: “What if that was the idea of the police? What if they wanted to catch all the junkies in our city?”

A spokesman for the gardening service who tend the flowerbeds said: “If they are marijuana plants we will remove them immediately.”