Liraglutide is a medication originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes (sold as Victoza) and obesity (sold as Saxenda) by Novo Nordisk. It belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which mimic a naturally occurring gut hormone that regulates blood sugar and appetite. Because liraglutide has been available longer than newer GLP-1 drugs, it has one of the most established safety records in its class, making it a natural early candidate when researchers began exploring whether these medications could also reduce drug and alcohol cravings. Scientists noticed that the brain circuits controlling appetite overlap significantly with those driving addiction, and that observation set the stage for some of the most exciting addiction research of the past decade.
When someone uses opioids, alcohol, or other addictive substances repeatedly, the brain learns to associate those substances with powerful surges of dopamine in the reward system. Over time, those surges shrink but the craving for them does not, creating a cycle that is very hard to break through willpower alone. Liraglutide works by activating GLP-1 receptors in key areas of the brain involved in reward and motivation, including the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. These are the same regions that light up during drug use and during cravings. By dampening the dopamine response that addictive substances trigger, liraglutide appears to quiet the reward signal without causing intoxication itself. Signals also travel to the brain through the vagus nerve, giving liraglutide a second pathway to influence craving-related circuits.
What Happened When Liraglutide Was Tested On Opioid Cravings In Humans?
The first-ever human clinical trial of any GLP-1 drug for opioid use disorder was conducted by Dr. Patricia Grigson and colleagues at Penn State College of Medicine, with participants enrolled at Caron Treatment Centers. The study (NCT04199728) enrolled 20 adults in residential treatment for opioid use disorder and was funded by the National Institutes of Health for approximately 5 million dollars. Participants who received liraglutide experienced a 40 percent reduction in opioid cravings compared to those who received placebo, and that reduction was already visible at the lowest dose tested. The results were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in 2024.
One of the most clinically meaningful details from that trial was the shape of the craving curve across the day. In the placebo group, cravings climbed from morning to evening, reaching their highest point during the hours that carry the greatest relapse risk. In the liraglutide group, cravings stayed essentially flat throughout the day. That difference in the daily pattern matters enormously in treatment, because even a brief window of peak craving can be enough to trigger a relapse. The finding suggests that liraglutide may not simply lower the overall level of craving but may also help smooth out the spikes that tend to derail recovery.
What Does The Broader Research Say About Liraglutide And Substance Use?
Clinical and real-world evidence beyond that initial trial has added meaningful weight to the case for liraglutide in addiction treatment. A Swedish national registry study published in JAMA Psychiatry in November 2024 followed 227,866 individuals with alcohol use disorder for nearly nine years and found that liraglutide was associated with a 28 percent lower risk of hospitalization for alcohol-related causes. A large Veterans Affairs cohort study published in the BMJ in 2026, covering more than 600,000 veterans, found that GLP-1 users had 40 percent fewer overdoses and 50 percent fewer drug-related deaths. A separate analysis using the All of Us research program found that liraglutide was associated with 71 percent lower odds of opioid use disorder and 73 percent lower odds of alcohol use disorder among matched participants.
What is liraglutide and what is it normally prescribed for?
Liraglutide is a once-daily injectable medication made by Novo Nordisk. Under the brand name Victoza it is approved to treat type 2 diabetes, and under the brand name Saxenda it is approved for chronic weight management. It belongs to the GLP-1 receptor agonist class, a group of drugs that mimic a hormone the gut releases after eating. It is not currently FDA-approved for addiction treatment, though research into that use is ongoing.
Did liraglutide reduce opioid cravings in clinical research?
Yes. In the first human clinical trial of any GLP-1 drug for opioid use disorder, conducted at Caron Treatment Centers with Penn State College of Medicine, participants who received liraglutide reported 40 percent fewer opioid cravings than those who received placebo. The effect appeared at the lowest dose tested. Cravings in the liraglutide group stayed flat across the day while the placebo group showed rising cravings by evening, which is the highest-risk period for relapse.
Can I get liraglutide as part of my addiction treatment?
Liraglutide is not yet FDA-approved specifically for addiction, so any use in that context would be off-label and requires careful discussion with a licensed physician. Off-label prescribing is legal and common in medicine when the clinical judgment supports it. If you are curious whether liraglutide or another GLP-1 medication might fit into your recovery plan, the best step is to speak with your treatment team about the current evidence and whether it applies to your situation.
