It looks like Colorado’s new marijuana laws are not deterring young Americans from applying to the state’s colleges and universities.

In fact, Colorado may have offered an unintentional incentive.

If Colorado’s new marijuana laws — legalizing the recreational possession of the drug — are deterring out-of-state students and their families from applying to colleges there, admissions offices aren’t seeing it.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

At University of Colorado Boulder, the state’s largest university, out-of-state applications for the fall have been rising 20 to 30% this year, says Kevin MacLennan, director of admissions.

MacLennan attributes the jump in numbers there to the university’s adoption of the Common Application by the school this year, which allows prospective students to apply to multiple colleges with one application.

But other schools in Colorado are seeing an increase in out-of-state applications, too.

University of Denver’s out-of-state applications, which are still coming in, seem to be continuing a five-year increase, says Todd Rinehart, vice chancellor for enrollment there.

Colorado College has seen a continuing rise in out-of-state applications, as well, says Leslie Weddell, the college’s news director.

For parents of prospective students, admission offices say, the marijuana issue just isn’t coming up as a concern.

Mike Hooker, executive director of public relations at Colorado State University, says that of the thousands of phone calls the school receives only a small few have even raised the issue.

“We’ve had a handful of calls (about it),” Hooker says. “Literally, a few calls.”

MacLennan told a similar story. During the school’s full, twice-daily information session with students and parents, they rarely hear it brought up.

“We’re just not getting those questions,” MacLennan says.

…For some students, the new laws are even a selling point.

Mario Bernal, 25, a senior mass communications major at Colorado State University, says he never uses marijuana before class or on school grounds, but smokes it to help him help him sleep at night and be fully focused the next day.

“I’d much rather stay in Colorado where it’s legal and not frowned upon,” Bernal says.