People who take drugs are more intelligent, says science

First, science told us that people who drink more are smarter, and now, science has come through for us once again. I love science!

A study from Cardiff University found that people with high IQs are more likely to smoke weed and take cocaine. The research, based on interviews with nearly 8,000 people in the UK, measured IQs at various points in childhood and then compared these to whether or not the smarter kids took drugs as adults.

The study found that by the time they were 30, 35 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women had smoked weed at least once in the previous year, while nine per cent of women and four per cent of women said they’d taken coke in the same time frame. These people all had higher IQ than non-drug users on the study.

And it’s especially noticeable in smart women. Women in the top third IQ range of the study were twice as likely to use cocaine or smoke weed by 30. Men with the highest IQs were nearly twice as likely to take amphetamines as stupid people, and 65 per cent more likely to take ecstasy.

James White, the lead author on the research, admitted: “It’s counterintuitive. It’s not what we thought we would find.”

He went on to explain how the results can be linked with the open-mindedness that comes with being smarter: “People with high IQs are more likely to score high on personality scales of openness to experience. They may be more willing to experiment and seek out novel experiences. And, I think, it’s also this idea of having an educated view of risk as well.”

The study also noted their results could be linked to boredom and social isolation experienced by many gifted children, but that drugs weren’t taken to treat any form of psychological distress. White said: “It rules out the argument that the only reason people take illegal drugs is to self medicate.”

The Cardiff study follows research from 2010 which appeared in Psychology Today, claiming that those with an IQ of 125 or higher are more likely to use drugs. The research claimed: “British children who are more intelligent before the age of 16 are more likely to consume psychoactive drugs at age 42 than less intelligent children.

“There is a clear monotonic association between childhood general intelligence and adult consumption of psychoactive drugs. ‘Very bright’ individuals (with IQs above 125) are roughly three-tenths of a standard deviation more likely to consume psychoactive drugs than ‘very dull’ individuals (with IQs below 75).”

See? if you don’t take drugs you’re dull and stupid.