The surprising new use for GLP-1s: Alcohol and drug addiction

When Susan Akin first started injecting a coveted weight-loss drug early this year, the chaos in her brain quieted. The relentless cravings subsided — only they’d never been for food.

The medication instead dulled her urges for the cocaine and alcohol that caused her to plow her car into a tree, spiral into psychosis and wind up admitted to a high-end addiction treatment center in Delray Beach, Florida.

Doctors at Caron Treatment Centers tried a novel approach for the slender 41-year-old by prescribing her Zepbound, part of a blockbuster class of obesity and diabetes medications known as GLP-1s. Federal regulators have not approved the drugs for behavioral health, but doctors are already prescribing them off-label, encouraged by studies suggesting that they could reshape addiction treatment.

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