Could Diabetes Drugs Be the Next Frontier in Addiction Treatment?
Incretin-based medicines like Ozempic have shown promising results in studies for reducing alcohol and substance abuse.
The last treatment for alcohol use disorder, Campral, received FDA approval in 2004. That means over two decades have passed without new, innovative therapies in addiction treatment.
The next contender making its way through clinical trials comes from a most unexpected place: Diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. A growing body of research shows these medicines, which are primarily used for blood sugar and weight management, could be useful in treating alcohol and substance use disorders.
When ‘feel good’ and ‘feel full’ hormones meet
Hunger and addiction go hand-in-hand when it comes to the inner workings of your brain. The two pathways have shared touchpoints, like the hormone GLP-1, which can influence both feelings of being full and being rewarded.
That’s because GLP-1 can interact with the reward pathway in the brain, which is primarily controlled by a hormone called dopamine. Popularized as the “feel good” hormone, dopamine is involved in pleasure and reward sensations – and plays a role in addiction behavior.
Wegovy, Zepbound, and similar medications (GLP-1 agonists) mimic this hormone, which increases insulin production and suppresses glucagon, to help lower blood sugar levels after eating. They also help curb appetite by promoting feelings of fullness. The biological networks that control hunger also cross paths with networks related to alcohol use disorder and other addictions.
What the research says
A 2025 review of existing research reported a number of findings that suggest GLP-1 receptor agonists show promise for treating alcohol, smoking, and other substance abuse disorders. Here are the key findings:
- Low-dose semaglutide (Ozempic for diabetes/Wegovy for weight loss) curbed alcohol cravings and reduced the number of drinks per day in people with alcohol use disorder, a 2025 study found.
- Another 2025 study found that semaglutide reduced the speed at which alcohol entered the bloodstream, making people feel less intoxicated.
- Electronic health records showed lower overdose rates in people with type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder who took semaglutide, according to a 2024 study.
- People taking semaglutide were less likely to develop cannabis use disorder; those with cannabis use disorder on semaglutide were also less likely to relapse, found a 2024 study.
- A 2022 study showed that an older GLP-1 medicine called exenatide (Byetta) reduced drinking in people with obesity.
- Byetta used with a nicotine patch helped some people stop smoking and lose weight, a 2021 study found.
The road ahead
It is still early days for research into novel uses for GLP-1 drugs, but the excitement from scientists doing research and the promise these drugs may have in addiction treatment is notable. That said, if GLP-1s were to gain future approval for addiction, getting these medications into the hands of patients may not prove easy.
“Less than 1% of people who need medications for addiction actually receive medication,” said Dr. Mehdi Farokhnia, staff scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. He added that psychological barriers can often prevent patients from recognizing their addiction and seeking treatment.
Though once-weekly GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic decrease medication burden and help people maintain an easier treatment regimen, the psychological aspects that prevent people from reaching out in the first place remain.
It’s also unclear whether these medications would be a short- or long-term treatment, said Joseph Schacht, a clinical neuroscientist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
“Patients who are taking GLP-1s for diabetes or weight loss require chronic treatment,” Schacht said. “So any effect on alcohol consumption or cravings might require a similar length of treatment.”
This point, however, does not discount the potential for short-term intervention, he said, as some addiction treatments are only used to regulate cravings and prevent relapse during recovery.
Looking forward, the journey of GLP-1 drugs in addiction treatment holds both promise and challenges. Researchers and clinicians eagerly await data from clinical trials that may eventually redefine the landscape of recovery.
Learn more about GLP-1s and other diabetes treatments here: