Could drugs like Ozempic help with substance abuse disorders? Here’s what we found

ATLANTA — Popular drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are known for dramatic weight loss, but they also can potentially help with substance abuse disorders, according to a new study.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln spoke with one Georgia woman who told her that she lost her taste for alcohol after taking Ozempic.

Jeannine Sutherland said she’s never struggled with addiction before in her life but found herself no longer craving certain foods.

She said what stood out to her the most was she no longer had the urge to drink alcohol after she started taking the medication.

“It’s just I felt like my clothes were tighter. I knew I was probably reaching into those areas where I’m not as healthy as I should be,” Sutherland said.

That was the main motivating factor for Sutherland to get on the popular weight loss medication— Segmaglutitde, drugs known as GLP-1s, including the brands Wegovy and Ozempic.

“I’ve lost about 22 pounds,” Sutherland said.

But in the more than three months Sutherland has been taking her weekly Ozempic shot, she said not only is she noticing a slimmer waist but a change in things she used to crave.

“I didn’t like eggs anymore,” Sutherland said.

And then she started experiencing phantom smells.

“I started to notice that I smelled cigarettes. And I don’t smoke,” Sutherland said.

But what stood out the most was her decreased desire for the occasional cocktail.

“I’ll start to drink, and I’ll go, ‘I’d rather have the water,’” Sutherland said.

Dr. Marshall Bedder is the director of the addiction medicine fellowship program at Wellstar Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

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He has more than 30 years of experience in the field and sees tremendous potential with GLP 1 drugs.

“I actually am very excited about the GLP-1s,” Bedder said.

He told Lincoln that he’s not surprised by the breakthrough because of how these drugs affect the brain.

“The GLP drugs can act on that center and actually increase dopamine so people don’t have cravings for alcohol, don’t have craving for opioids and now maybe even don’t have craving for cigarettes because it’s all dopamine-related,” Bedder said.

A landmark study done by Loyola University Chicago’s Parkinson School of Health Sciences looked at over 1.3 million people – 500,000 with opioid use disorder and more than 800,000 with alcohol use – and found those taking GLP-1s reduced their chance of experiencing an opioid overdose by 40%.

The risk of alcohol intoxication was cut in half compared to those not taking the drug. And the results weren’t just evident in healthy patients but also in those with Type 2 diabetes, obesity or both.

Bedder said while this study is a game changer, more research is still needed.

“We need to have random controlled studies so what we can show is it’s the factor that is changing with these folks. We have to look at them from the beginning to see if it’s sustained,” Bedder said.

According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2022, 1 in 6 Americans ages 12 and older reported experiencing a substance use disorder.

Sutherland said while she never struggled with addiction problems, she sees the potential of this drug to help those who do.

“I’ve had people in my life that have had addiction issues, and I would definitely not rule it out,” Sutherland said.

A second study that looked at electronic health records also found that GLP-1s are associated with a reduced opioid overdose risk.

Bedder said it’s important to never take these drugs without consulting with your doctor first.

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