GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) have the potential to change the way we treat addiction to many different drugs. A large study shows that these diabetes and obesity drugs lower the risk of new addictions and bad outcomes in people who are already addicted.
Researchers looked at more than 600,000 people and found that people who took GLP-1 were 18–25% less likely to develop alcohol, opioid, cannabis, cocaine, or nicotine use disorders than people who didn’t take GLP-1. For people who had already been addicted, GLP-1s led to 31% fewer trips to the emergency room, 26% fewer hospitalizations, 39% fewer overdoses, 50% fewer deaths, and 25% fewer suicide attempts over three years.
GLP-1 drugs act like gut hormones that affect the brain’s reward centers, stopping dopamine signals that are linked to cravings for food and drugs. This wide-ranging effect goes against the grain of traditional addiction treatments that only target one substance, suggesting a shared biological pathway.
Supporting studies comprise a Swedish analysis demonstrating a 36% reduction in alcohol-related hospitalizations and a trial in which semaglutide diminished alcohol craving and consumption.
