Workers discover cannabis plants amid the tulips outside the state Capitol

MADISON – Capitol workers on Friday removed what appear to be several cannabis plants from a flower bed near the west entrance to the statehouse building that were planted without officials' knowledge.

Department of Administration spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick said department staff were made aware of the plants in question on Capitol grounds by a media outlet on Thursday.

"We do not have the expertise to confirm whether the plants were cannabis, but our facilities staff have examined the area and removed the plants," Warrick said.

Shelby Ellison, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at UW-Madison, said the plants looked purposefully planted in the flower beds that contained mostly tulips but that it was unclear whether the plants could be used as marijuana without further testing.

"It is impossible to determine if they were hemp or marijuana without testing for THC content. I do think they were likely intentionally planted just because there were so many of them," she said.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cannabis found growing amid the tulips at the Wisconsin state Capitol