COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Starting on Thursday, April 20, student groups at Texas A&M will begin a campaign to decriminalize cannabis in the city of College Station.
The group consists of the Cannabis Hemp Innovation League, Aggies for Liberty, Students For Sensible Drug Policy, and Young Dems BCS. It is led by Josh Van Dyke, who works for Texas A&M University's hemp breeding program.
He explained how he the effort came to life after researching the issue across Texas, with Austin voting to decriminalize marijuana in May 2022.
"We're trying to prevent police from searching just for smell because marijuana and hemp smell completely identical" said Van Dyke.
The group's goal is ultimately to decriminalize possession of cannabis for Class A and B misdemeanors.
Starting at 5 p.m. at John Crompton Park, they will kick off their campaign to gather 5,000 signatures for their initiative. Once they reach that goal, they will take it to the ballots where it will be decided on by voters.