Weight Loss Drug May Help Combat Opioid Crisis, Research Suggests

New research shows that drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro lower hospitalization rates for opioid overdose and alcohol intoxication in patients with addiction.

Boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 17, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Popular weight loss medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro could offer an unexpected weapon against the United States’ deadly opioid epidemic, with new research showing that patients taking these drugs were 40 percent less likely to be hospitalized for drug overdoses and 50 percent less likely to require treatment for alcohol intoxication.

The findings, published in the journal Addiction, represent a potential breakthrough in addiction treatment at a critical moment.