Effect of Semaglutide on Cannabis Use in Adults With Cannabis Use Disorder

What Was Tested

The trial (phase 2) is built around Semaglutide.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either semaglutide or a placebo.

The first 50 participants will have functional brain scans (fMRI) to investigate how the brain responds to cannabis-related cues.

It had two arms (groups): semaglutide (experimental) and Placebo (saline injection) (placebo comparator).

Saline once-weekly by subcutaneous injection.

The registry classes the interventions as drug.

More on the Plan

Participants will receive weekly injections of semaglutide or placebo for 20 weeks, with the primary endpoint assessed at the end of treatment.

A follow-up visit will occur at week 46.

A total of 100 participants will be enrolled.

Cannabis use and secondary outcomes will be measured at week 0, 6, 12, 20, and 46.

Who Took Part

100 planned participants were the target.

It was open to people of any sex aged from 18 years up to 70 years.

Healthy volunteers were not accepted; participants needed the condition being studied.

Examples of who could join: Informed oral and written consent. Meets the criteria for cannabis use disorder (CUD) according to DSM-5 or ICD-10. Currently seeking to cut down or stop cannabis use. Positive urine test for cannabinoids. Body mass index (BMI) ≥ 23 kg/m².

The full record lists 9 inclusion and 18 exclusion criteria; among the exclusions: currently meeting non-cannabis/tobacco substance use disorder (icd-10 or dsm-5); current or past diagnosis of severe psychiatric illness, defined as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other psychoses, within the past five years; suicide attempt or suicidal behavior within the past five years.

How the Study Was Run

Design: randomized, parallel-group and quadruple-blind.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Semaglutide and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

The Semaglutide group and the comparison group ran side by side rather than switching.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Semaglutide.

Those kept unaware of assignments: participant, care provider, investigator and outcomes assessor.

It started in 2026-04-30 with completion listed for 2028-04-30.

It ran at 1 site in Denmark.

Its stated primary purpose is treatment.

What Was Measured

Primary outcome: Cannabis consumption (time frame: From baseline to week 20).

It also tracked 23 secondary outcomes, for example Quantitative measure of cannabis metabolites, Cannabis consumption, THC consumption, Severity of cannabis use, Cannabis problems and Cannabis craving.

What This Means in Plain Language

Put simply, this is a phase 2, randomized trial of Semaglutide in 100 people.

It is still recruiting; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.

More context: the Semaglutide compound page, all human trials.