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Hythiam's Dr. Andrea Barthwell to Address Government Officials at 2nd National Methamphetamine Legislative and Policy Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 12:00 CST

Insert Terren S. Peizer's title, Hythiam's Chairman and CEO, to his quote. Also, please note that Peizer's quote, which was formerly the seventh graph, is now the fourth graph.

The corrected release reads:

HYTHIAM'S DR. ANDREA BARTHWELL TO ADDRESS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AT 2ND NATIONAL METHAMPHETAMINE LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CONFERENCE IN HONOLULU, HAWAII; CONTINUED ESCALATION OF METH EPIDEMIC FUELS SEARCH FOR TREATMENT OPTIONS

Hythiam, Inc. (Nasdaq:HYTM), a healthcare services management company that delivers to treatment providers proprietary administrative services and physiological protocols designed to treat substance dependence, today announced that the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, James "Duke" Aiona, Jr. has invited Hythiam to address policy makers and members of federal, state, and foreign governments at the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws 2nd National Methamphetamine Legislative and Policy Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Presenting on Hythiam's behalf will be the Honorable Andrea Grubb Barthwell, member of Hythiam's Board of Directors and former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Dr. Barthwell's session is the only one focused on treatment options during this three-day conference.

The conference draws members of state and federal government, judges, high-level Health and Human Services policy makers, health care analysts, policy makers of child welfare services, and others in human services and law enforcement. Hythiam has been invited to conduct a session for conference participants where new approaches to treatment, including Hythiam's PROMETA(TM), will be discussed as members of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws look for ways to treat meth-dependent individuals who are causing a tremendous burden on governmental resources as a result of the high costs they impose on the medical and criminal justice systems.

"The State of Hawai'i is pleased to host the 2nd National Methamphetamine Legislative and Policy Conference in Honolulu, and to welcome Dr. Barthwell as she addresses the Conference participants," said Hawai'i's Lieutenant Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr. "The Lingle-Aiona Administration recognizes the important need to comprehensively address the many harms related to illicit drug use. Accordingly, the Administration has launched the Hawaii Drug Control Plan, which utilizes three-prong approach that focuses on prevention, treatment, and law enforcement. A key aspect of the Plan is to employ new and proven methods of delivering reliable treatment opportunities to our Hawai'i residents in need."

"We are honored that Lieutenant Governor Aiona has invited us to address the distinguished participants of this conference," said Terren S. Peizer, Hythiam's Chairman and CEO. "The criminal justice systems of many states, including Hawaii, are experiencing a backlog of individuals who need treatment, but who may not be able to attain it due to limitations of current alternatives such as intensive outpatient counseling and inpatient residential treatment. Retention is difficult in either setting because behavioral therapy cannot address the intense physical cravings that individuals experience once they stop using methamphetamine. Sadly, due to the lack of interventions that have the requisite efficacy and physical capacity to tackle this problem, many methamphetamine dependent individuals are ending up in jail or in emergency rooms. PROMETA(TM), an acute, outpatient medical intervention may change this paradigm by removing these bottlenecks and improving both outcomes and throughput."

Dr. Barthwell has also served as President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), the nation's medical specialty society dedicated to educating physicians and improving the treatment of individuals suffering from alcoholism and other addictions.

Prior to joining ONDCP, Barthwell served as President of ASAM, as President of the Encounter Medical Group in Oak Park, Illinois and as President and Executive Vice President of two major drug treatment providers in Chicago. Prior to her recent government service on President Bush's sub-cabinet she served on the National Advisory Councils of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), on the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and on the Drug Abuse Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Dr. Barthwell received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and her Doctor of Medicine from University of Michigan Medical School. She completed post-graduate training at University of Chicago and Northwestern University Medical Center.

More information about this week's conference can be found at www.natlalliance.org.

About the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws

The National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws (the Alliance) is a resource for governors, state legislators, attorneys general, drug and alcohol professionals, community leaders, the recovering community, and others striving for comprehensive, effective state drug and alcohol laws and policies. We draft, research, and analyze model drug and alcohol laws and related state statutes; provide access to our national network of drug and alcohol experts; and facilitate working relationships among state and community leaders and drug and alcohol professionals.

About PROMETA(TM)

Hythiam's PROMETA(TM) treatment protocols are designed for use by healthcare providers seeking to treat individuals diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamines, as well as combinations of these drugs. The PROMETA(TM) protocols include medically supervised procedures designed to address both the neurochemical imbalances in the brain and some of the nutritional deficits caused or worsened by substance dependence. Changes in brain chemistry and function play an important role in the physical and behavioral symptoms of substance dependence, including tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, craving and relapse. The PROMETA(TM) protocols also provide for one-month of prescription medication and nutritional supplements, combined with psychosocial or other recovery-oriented therapy chosen by the patient in conjunction with their treatment provider. As a result, PROMETA(TM) represents an innovative approach to managing alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine dependence that is designed to address physiological, nutritional and psychosocial aspects of the disease, and is thereby intended to offer patients an opportunity to achieve sustained recovery.

About Hythiam, Inc.

Hythiam(R) is a healthcare services management company, focused on delivering solutions for those suffering from alcoholism and other substance dependencies. Hythiam researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative physiological treatment protocols that seek to address substance dependence. Additionally, Hythiam provides proprietary administrative services to assist physicians and facilities with staff education, marketing and sales support, and outcomes tracking for data analysis. For further information, please visit www.hythiam.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history and lack of statistically significant formal research studies, the risk that treatment protocols might not be effective, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, intense competition and substantial regulation in the healthcare industry; and additional risks factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.

Source: Business Wire

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