Smarter kids seem more prone to use alcohol and drugs, according to a recent study from Great Britain.

According to the study, females who scored in the top third of IQ tests in elementary school were twice as likely as their less-intelligent peers to have used marijuana and/or cocaine by age 30. Males with high IQs were 50 percent more likely to use amphetamines and 65 percent more prone to have used ecstasy.

Counterintuitively, earlier research found that people with lower intelligence were more likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol, and experts say this new study doesn’t actually contradict that. While more intelligent youth may be more prone to use alcohol and drugs, their smarts serves as a protective factor against alcoholism and drug addiction. (Time)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.