By JONEL ALECCIA

The blockbuster GLP-1 drugs that have reshaped the treatment of diabetes and obesity may help prevent multiple substance use disorders — and reduce the tragic outcomes they cause, a large new study finds.

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An analysis published Wednesday in a medical journal looked at electronic health records from more than 600,000 U.S. Veterans Affairs patients with diabetes. It found that those treated with medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro were less likely to develop addictions to alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, opioids and other substances than those treated with a different class of drugs.

In those already addicted, the GLP-1 drugs were linked to lower risks of hospitalization, overdose and death, according to the study.

The new results suggest — but don’t prove — that the weight-loss medications may be able to target the underlying source of cravings that affect the more than 48 million Americans with substance use disorders.

“They’re actually working against the root cause of all these different addictions,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the study’s lead author and a chief researcher at the VA St. Louis Health Care System.

Here’s what you need to know about the new research published by The BMJ:

How the study was designed

Previous studies have suggested that the drugs known as GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, could reduce addictions by targeting the brain’s reward pathways. But those studies have been small and often limited to one substance.

For this study, one of the largest to date, Al-Aly and his colleagues analyzed data from the electronic records of more than 600,000 Veterans Affairs patients with diabetes over three years. They compared people who received GLP-1 drugs with those treated with medications that lower blood sugar.

The patients were divided into seven parallel trials that analyzed the risk of developing addictions to multiple substances including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, nicotine and opioids. Another trial looked at the risk of specific harms among people with existing addictions when they took the different types of medication.

What the researchers found

Al-Aly and his colleagues found that people starting the GLP-1 drugs had lower risks of developing addiction to multiple substances. Compared with the other medications, people taking the GLP-1 drugs had a reduced risk for addiction: 18% for alcohol, 14% for cannabis, 20% for both cocaine and nicotine, and 25% for opioids.

In patients who already had substance use disorders, starting the GLP-1s was linked with a 31% lower risk of emergency department visits, 26% lower risk of hospitalizations, 25% lower risk of suicidal thoughts or attempts, 39% lower risk of overdose — and 50% lower risk of death.

Overall, the study found that using GLP-1 drugs likely prevented about seven cases of substance use disorder and 12 incidents involving serious harm for every 1,000 users over three years, Al-Aly said.

The limits of the study

Among the study’s limitations: It was conducted within the VA health system, which serves a population that is mostly older, white and male, although Al-Aly said the results were consistent in more than 35,000 women. It also includes data only from people with diabetes, not the general population.

The researchers also couldn’t account for some factors, such as socioeconomic status or lifestyle choices, that could affect the results. And the analysis focuses on the effects of using GLP-1s compared with another drug, not compared with no treatment.

As an observational study, the new analysis showed that the GLP-1s are associated with reduced risk of substance use disorders and harms, not that the drugs themselves caused the reduction.

Addiction researchers see a need for new medications

The new findings are striking, said Dr. Lorenzo Leggio, a National Institute on Drug Abuse clinical director who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Even though we don’t fully understand the mechanism, somehow the GLP-1 system is tackling addiction biology and the foundational system that underlies all these disorders,” he said.

Diabetes and weight-loss trials have shown that the GLP-1 drugs target hormones in the gut and the brain that control appetite and feelings of fullness, cutting down on what’s described as “food noise,” or intrusive thoughts of food. In the same way, this study indicates the drugs may tamp down “alcohol or drug noise,” Leggio said.

Growing evidence that GLP-1s might prevent substance use disorders is exciting, said Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford University addiction medicine specialist.

“We haven’t really had a new tool in our toolbox from a pharmacotherapy perspective to treat addiction in a long time,” said Lembke, noting that some addiction specialists are already prescribing GLP-1s off-label, especially when other treatments have failed.

She cautioned that the GLP-1 drugs don’t work the same way for all users and that they have risks that must be weighed against potential benefits.

What comes next

The new findings do not, by themselves, justify prescribing GLP-1 drugs to prevent or treat substance use disorders, Al-Aly said. That evidence would need to come from randomized controlled clinical trials that directly compare the use of the drugs against a placebo, or dummy medication. Several such trials are pending, Leggio noted.

The goal is finding a new way to treat addictions, which are a leading cause of sickness and death around the world.

“The consequence in terms of chronic disease of these addictive drugs is actually gigantic in our society,” Leggio said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By OLIVIA DIAZ

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the second time, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can cast ballots on a Democrat-led congressional redistricting plan that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, as the justices review legal challenges to the effort.

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The court ruled that a statewide referendum can be held on April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, upending a temporary restraining order put in place by a Tazewell County judge last month. It comes after the top court made a similar ruling last month in a related case.

The court still has not ruled on whether the mid-decade redistricting amendment and referendum are legal, indicating that the scheduled April vote could be all for nothing if the top court upholds a lower court ruling blocking the effort. Early voting on the referendum is supposed to begin Friday.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address,” the ruling said. “Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”

Since late February, officials in Tazewell County have refrained from preparing for the referendum in light of the restraining order. On Wednesday, Tazewell Director of Elections Brian Earls said he would work hard to ensure early voting would start in his county come Friday.

“I believe we will be ready,” he said in an email. “If not, it will not be for lack of effort.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which filed the initial request for a restraining order, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.

Virginia House Republican Minority Leader Terry Kilgore expressed confidence Wednesday in winning the case and at the ballot box.

“If we can throw this constitutional amendment out, what other constitutional amendments can we throw out over the next few years?” he told reporters following the ruling. “That’s not the way Virginia should be.”

President Donald Trump launched an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle last year by pushing Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts to help his party win more seats. The goal was for the GOP to hold on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power in midterms.

Instead, it created a burst of redistricting efforts nationwide. So far, Republicans believe they can win nine more House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats think they can win six more seats in California and Utah, and are hoping to fully or partially make up the remaining three-seat margin in Virginia.

In February, Virginia Democrats released a new congressional map that aims to give their party four more seats. Since then, the Democratic-led Legislature passed the proposed map and Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the document into law.

Still, the map only goes into effect if it’s backed by voters and the amendment process is approved by the top court.

Virginia Democratic House Speaker Don Scott said Wednesday that the top court’s decision gives voters an opportunity to decide whether the map gets used.

“The Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision ensures that this referendum will move forward and that Virginians will have the opportunity to make their voices heard,” he said.

Democratic lawmakers in Virginia have sought to portray their redistricting push as a response to Trump’s overreach. Republicans have sounded aghast at the proposed district map, describing it as a way for liberals in northern Virginia to commandeer the rest of the state.

With concerns about an eviction crisis growing in the wake of Operation Metro Surge, the St. Paul City Council is considering a temporary requirement that landlords give renters 60 days notice before filing an eviction action with the courts.

If approved, the requirement would double the 30-day notice requirement that had been poised to take effect May 14. The 60-day requirement would roll out at the same time as the city’s new tenant protections package, which was approved by the council a year ago, and run through Dec. 31.

Council Member HwaJeong noted that eviction filings have hit new records since the pandemic, and the immigration crackdown — which shuttered businesses and left many immigrant workers in hiding — has only made matters worse for those already in a vulnerable housing situation.

“We are responding to a crisis layered on a pre-existing one,” said Kim, introducing the 60-day ordinance amendment on Wednesday. “This is not an eviction moratorium. It does not cancel rent. … This is a targeted, time-limited response.”

The state of Minnesota has mandated a 14-day notice for new eviction filings since early 2024. Two weeks “is not nearly enough time to find … a mutual aid fund,” Kim said.

Speaking in favor of the proposal, Council Member Nelsie Yang said immigrant families will be shouldering the economic impacts of Operation Metro Surge for months.

“There are families I’m in touch with right now who are still waiting for their loved one to come back, and they don’t know when they’ll be back,” Yang said.

The council will host a public hearing on the proposed ordinance amendment March 11, with a possible vote March 18.

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As a freshman, Mara Braun quickly found her shoulders full. Because of injuries, the guard from Wayzata — part of Lindsay Whalen’s Top 10, all-Minnesota recruiting class — was doing it all by the end of the season.

A natural off guard, she began playing big minutes at the point. She was the team’s go-to scorer, averaging a team-best 15.6 games a game. She was the Gophers’ best scorer off the dribble, led the team in 3-point attempts (186) and makes (65) and averaged a team-high 32.9 minutes.

Minnesota guard Mara Braun smiles with a teammate during the Gophers’ 78-73 victory at Illinois last Sunday. No. 19 Minnesota begins Big Ten Conference tournament play on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Keelen Barlow/Gophers Athletics)

That team finished 11-19 overall, 4-14 in the Big Ten.

Sidelined by a foot that required two surgeries to repair, Braun spent the next two seasons as a student coach, watching while her teammates grew, and coach Dawn Plitzuweit added talented new teammates.

Last year, the Gophers won the postseason Women’s Basketball Tournament and a program-best 25 games. So, Braun knew the team she was rejoining on the court was considerably better. But finding room for Braun wasn’t difficult. It was a luxury.

“She’s had a spot,” Plitzuweit said, “and she’s done really well with it.”

Braun is now averaging a career-low 11.7 points, but on a team with five players scoring in double digits — Tori McKinney (13.6), Grace Grocholski (12.5), Amaya Battle (10.9) and Sophie Hart (10.9) are the others — on a team that heads into this week’s Big Ten Conference tournament with the No. 4 seed.

After receiving two byes, Minnesota (22-7, 13-5) will play in a quarterfinal Friday against Ohio State or the winner of Wednesday’s late game between Wisconsin and Illinois. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m. CST.

“I think we’re pretty confident, but also it’s just such a good opportunity to do something we’ve never done before,” Braun said. “Usually we’re playing on the first day, so it’s nice to be here, to be able to go and play on Friday, and with the momentum we have.”

Braun also is playing her best basketball at the right time, averaging 13.7 points. 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists while making 46.9 percent of her 3-point attempts (23 for 49). As important, she’s having a blast.

“It’s really fun,” she said. “We’re so excited just to be loose and have fun with it.”

Playing loose wasn’t always easy for Braun. After the Gophers’ victory over then-No. 10 Ohio State on Feb. 18, she acknowledged that she used to stew over mistakes on the court. Back playing after two years largely spent rehabbing a serious foot injury, that’s no longer an issue.

That, she said, wouldn’t be fair to her teammates, or to the Braun who spent two years working to get back on the court.

“It would be selfish to hang my head and be so upset about something that happened on the court when I’m on the court playing,” she said. “That’s something I wanted to do these past two seasons. So, to me it’s just selfish to my past (self), wanting to be on the court so badly. And now I am.”

Plitzuweit said Braun’s game is rounding out, on both ends of the floor, and that her leadership has been invaluable on and off the court. It’s not all about points.

“She wants to be the very best, she wants to continue playing, and I believe she’s going to be able to do that at a very, very high level provided she stays healthy and all those kinds of things,” Plitzuweit said. “But to be at your best, you have to grow your game, and that’s what she’s trying to do.”

When Braun arrived on campus with Battle, Mallory Heyer and Niamaya Holloway in 2022, she said the goal was to be part of the team that reaches the heights, and generates the excitement, of the 2004 Final Four team.

Heyer is gone, transferred to Oregon, but Braun, Battle and Holloway are seeing their goals manifest.
No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, and No. 8 in the NET rankings, the Gophers are bound for their first NCAA tournament since 2019 and have a good chance to play host to first- and second-round regional games at Williams Arena.

“We’ve been through this all, the start of it and the hard times. We got through it together,” Braun said. “I think because we did go through it together, everyone has bought in.”

Minnesota guard Mara Braun, right, drives on Ohio State’s Kennedy Cambridge during the 23rd-ranked Gophers’ 74-61 victory at Williams Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Braun finished with 18 points. (Claudia Staut/Gophers Athletics)

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