New Study Measures Aggression Levels When Drunk vs. When High

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A new study published in Psychopharmacology sought to definitively tackle two well accepted notions:

People tend to be angry drunks and laid back when they're high.

We see the images we're often fed. When someone is portrayed as being drunk, they're typically behaving aggressively and in a belligerent manner, while people that are high are often depicted as someone plopped down on a couch with their snacks.

But, is there any truth to these stereotypes?

Researchers tried to find that out by conducting an experiment with three groups. One group was made up of 20 heavy drinkers ( defined as 3+ drinks a day for men, 2+ for women). One group consisted of 21 heavy marijuana users ( at least three times a week). The final group was the control of people who did neither.

The people in the study went through a number of tests to measure aggression. They first made the alcohol users drunk until their BAC hit .08 and got the marijuana users high by administering a certain amount of THC.

After going through a series of test, the researchers found that what we've thought all along...might actually be true.

The researchers found that alcohol intoxication actually does raise our level of aggression, while the opposite occurs when high on marijuana.