[RonPaul2008]

Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa has this theory, which he calls the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis. Here's how it goes: intelligence evolved as a way to deal with "evolutionary novelties"--to help humans respond to things in their environment to which they were, as a species, unaccustomed. Thus, smart people are more likely to deal with new things and try them. Those new things seem to include drugs.
Why? Because, as Kanazawa explains, while "the use of opium dates back to about 5,000 years ago ... Other psychoactive drugs are 'chemical' (pharmacological); they require modern chemistry to manufacture." Psychoactive drugs, therefore, are evolutionarily pretty new to humans. Which means that smart people, according to the theory, will be more likely to take psychoactive drugs. That's true even if the drugs are bad for them: "[the Hypothesis] does not predict that more intelligent individuals are more likely to engage in healthy and beneficial behavior, only that they are more likely to engage in evolutionarily novel behavior."

Kanazawa even finds a study with support:

Consistent with the prediction of the Hypothesis, the analysis of the National Child Development Study shows that more intelligent children in the United Kingdom are more likely to grow up to consume psychoactive drugs than less intelligent children. ... "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).

If that pattern holds across societies, then it runs directly counter to a lot of our preconceived notions about both intelligence and drug use:

People--scientists and civilians alike--often associate intelligence with positive life outcomes. The fact that more intelligent individuals are more likely to consume alcohol, tobacco, and psychoactive drugs tampers this universally positive view of intelligence and intelligent individuals. Intelligent people don't always do the right thing, only the evolutionarily novel thing.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/featu...Evolution-2425

[muldoon]

DMT - nuff said.

[iifold]

Common sense here..

I figured this out in fourth grade...

I've always said, I wish I was dumb enough to enjoy life..

Idiots are too dumb to worry and aren't smart enough know when they're making a fool of themselves..

[MonkeyF0cker]

DMT - nuff said.

LOL. That shit is fukking nuts. It makes LSD look like cotton candy.

[thezbar]

I agree with it for the most part.

[36mafia]

i need to shroom

[chilidog]

don't get why sedatives are popular , what is so fun about feeling sleepy, maybe people use them with something else

Yah, me either; I just don't understand that one. Neither do I understand the popularity with pain pills. Granted, I've never taken a dosage for anything but recommended for its' intended purpose. I think I've had pain medication 3 times in my life, the most recent one being a morphine shot after a mountain bike accident, and all it did was make the pain go away and knock me out. What's fun about that?? I guess I figured the purpose of drugs was to have fun and enjoy them. You miss everything when you go to sleep.

[jarrod]

i think it's the people who get bored with life use, but also people mainly use to cope with their memories from there life. maybe because some one is intelligent they night use out of curiosity or boredom, and coping these are the only ways i think that some one would pick up drugs.

[eidolon]

very dull" individuals (with IQs below 75).

That is a horrible comparison. People with IQs that low, have a hard time making decisions for themselves.

Looking back at my high school, people that did drugs were either dumbasses, or very bright. u

[ChileCheese]

Ive always considered myself to be an intellectual stoner, and open to all types of drugs as long as the likelihood of addiction was low. Not interested in Meth or Heroine.... But e, Shrooms, acid all up for grabs and Mariganja of course.

[chilidog]

i think it's the people who get bored with life use, but also people mainly use to cope with their memories from there life. maybe because some one is intelligent they night use out of curiosity or boredom, and coping these are the only ways i think that some one would pick up drugs.

Perhaps for some people; I've never researched this, but it is an interesting viewpoint. I don't necessarily think that people drink a beer or have a glass of wine because they're bored. And I've never been sitting around the house bored and thought "I know what, let me do some blow, I'm freakin bored!"

While there are people that use substances for self-medication or to 'escape reality', I would think that the majority that use any substance (whether it is legal or illegal), do so for pleasure - to have fun.

[QuantumLeap]

don't get why sedatives are popular , what is so fun about feeling sleepy, maybe people use them with something else

For people who have a hard time relaxing sedatives can be a great way to do just that.

[marcoloco]

i think it's the people who get bored with life use, but also people mainly use to cope with their memories from there life. maybe because some one is intelligent they night use out of curiosity or boredom, and coping these are the only ways i think that some one would pick up drugs.

i like that answer

[C-Gold]

You need money to feed a drug habbit. Rich kids have mommy and daddies money. Poor and dumb kids break the law and end up in jail.