Can Ozempic help us fight addiction?

In September, Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), co-authored a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that semaglutide (known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy) decreased overdose risk among people with Type 2 diabetes and opioid addiction. Last month, another study published in the journal Addiction illustrates similar findings: medications like Ozempic were associated with lower rates of opioid overdose among people with opioid use disorder and lower rates of alcohol use among people with alcohol use disorder. In other words, this preliminary data revealed that taking Ozempic could potentially prevent overdose deaths and decrease substance use.

For the past two years, there has been a buzz around the “wonderdrug” Ozempic — a medication in the class known as GLP-1 receptor agonists — from clickbait celebrity gossip websites to the front pages of leading medical journals. The ability of these medications to reduce weight, fight diabetes, even decrease the incidence of death from cardiovascular disease, has been well-studied.

But Ozempic’s effectiveness seems to be stretching beyond the realm of cardiometabolic disease and into the field of addiction medicine. Volkow’s study adds to a growing body of scientific and anecdotal evidence that GLP-1 medications can reduce cravings among people with substance use disorders, including alcohol, tobacco, opioids, cannabis and stimulants. In addition to increasing the release of insulin and slowing stomach emptying, GLP-1 analogs are thought to impact the brain’s reward circuits, leading to fewer cravings and decreased use.