People prescribed Ozempic or Wegovy are less likely to develop a cannabis use disorder or relapse from the condition than those who take other diabetes or obesity medications, reported the NewScientist on Thursday.

As brand names for the compound semaglutide, Ozempic and Wegovy are said to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar levels. It is now routinely prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, and some evidence suggests it eases cravings in substance use disorders, too, such as alcoholism or nicotine addiction.

However, no studies have yet assessed whether semaglutide affects cannabis use. To that end, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and her colleagues tracked incidences of cannabis use disorder and relapse in people prescribed Ozempic or Wegovy.

They collected data on more than 85,000 people with obesity in the U.S. using electronic health records, noted the outlet. More than 46,000 of the participants were prescribed semaglutide, while the rest used other obesity medications. More than 2,000 of the participants had a history of cannabis use disorder.

Researchers then tracked how many participants developed a cannabis use disorder or relapsed from the condition within a year of starting the medication. After accounting for factors like gender, socioeconomic status and tobacco use, researchers found that, on average, those prescribed were about half as likely to develop a cannabis use disorder as those who were prescribed another obesity medication.

Among the subset of participants previously diagnosed with cannabis use disorder, those taking semaglutide were almost 40% less likely to relapse than those taking other obesity medications. Researchers found a similar result in another cohort of nearly 600,000 people who were being treated for type 2 diabetes.

This suggests semaglutide could potentially treat cannabis use disorder, say researchers.

"This is really promising," says Susan Ferguson at the University of Washington in Seattle, adding that only clinical trials can establish whether semaglutide prevents or treats the condition.

It is also unclear how semaglutide may affect cannabis use. "It is probably working in the brain, regulating the pathways involved in the craving or drive to take drugs," says Ferguson.

Read Now: Cannabis With Ozempic, Wegovy, Other Weight-Loss Drugs: Here’s What You Need To Know If You’re Combining Them

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