Purdue students soon will get to vote whether they think getting busted with pot in the dorms should be treated on par with getting caught with alcohol.

Dean of Students L. Tony Hawkins this week agreed to put a nonbinding student referendum on ballots during the student government elections March 30 through April 1.

The question will ask whether sanctions for marijuana possession should be amended so they are no greater than those for alcohol possession and use.

"We are hoping that we can get a majority vote so we can have leverage to set up a dialogue with the residence hall council to discuss this," said junior Sara Wislocki, president of Purdue's NORML chapter.

Her group collected more than 1,200 signatures on petitions pressing to get the question on the student government elections ballot.

Students caught with booze in Purdue's residence halls face a variety of potential penalties, ranging from referral to an alcohol education program for first offenses to eventually getting kicked out of the dorms for continued violations.

But a student's residence hall contract is terminated the first time they are caught with marijuana or other illegal drugs in the halls.

This academic year more than 40 students have been caught with marijuana, said Barb Frazee, executive director of University Residences.

"We will be interested to see what the student body votes, but as long as marijuana is illegal, I don't think we will change our policy," Frazee said.

Kim Raver, a sophomore living on campus, said Thursday she doesn't think changing the marijuana policy is a good idea.

"One is an illegal substance and the other is legal if you are of age," she said. "I don't see how you compare the two."

NORML -- short for National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws -- is mainly focused on changing laws dealing with marijuana use. For the proposed referendum, Purdue's NORML chapter worked with Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, a Denver-based group that is pushing colleges to reconsider policies around student marijuana use. The group's position is that the drug is safer than alcohol.