College students at the University of Colorado in Boulder and eight other Colorado campuses plan protests calling for easier penalties for students who smoke pot.

A national group in favor of marijuana legalization is putting on the rallies at campuses nationwide Thursday. The students argue that stiff punishments for being caught in a campus dorm with pot steer students to booze and promote binge drinking.

The group has helped students at 13 colleges pass measures calling on their schools to set pot penalties no worse than alcohol violations. So far, no schools have changed their penalties.

Colorado colleges ban on-campus marijuana use, even for students with medical marijuana clearance.