Placement Agent Agreement

September 17, 2009

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr. Terren S. Peizer

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Hythiam Inc.

11150 Santa Monica Boulevard

Suite 1500

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Dear Mr. Peizer:

This letter (the “ Agreement ”) constitutes the agreement between Rodman & Renshaw, LLC (“ Rodman ” or the “ Placement Agent ”) and Hythiam Inc. (the “ Company ”), that Rodman shall serve as the exclusive placement agent for the Company, on a “reasonable best efforts” basis, in connection with the proposed placement (the “ Placement ”) of registered securities (the “ Securities ”) of the Company, including shares (the “ Shares ”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “ Common Stock ”) and warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock. The terms of such Placement and the Securities shall be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the purchasers (each, a “ Purchaser ” and collectively, the “ Purchasers ”) and nothing herein constitutes that Rodman would have the power or authority to bind the Company or any Purchaser or an obligation for the Company to issue any Securities or complete the Placement. This Agreement and the documents executed and delivered by the Company and the Purchasers in connection with the Placement shall be collectively referred to herein as the “ Transaction Documents .”  The date of the closing of the Placement shall be referred to herein as the “ Closing Date .”  The Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that Rodman’s obligations hereunder are on a reasonable best efforts basis only and that the execution of this Agreement does not constitute a commitment by Rodman to purchase the Securities and does not ensure the successful placement of the Securities or any portion thereof or the success of Rodman with respect to securing any other financing on behalf of the Company.

(A)           The fees set forth below with respect to the Placement:

(B)           The Company also agrees to reimburse Rodman’s expenses (with supporting invoices/receipts) up to a maximum of .8% of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the placement, but in no event more than $30,000. Such reimbursement shall be payable immediately upon (but only in the event of) the closing of the Placement.

(A)           The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration File No. 333-158407) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), which became effective on  September 11, 2009 , for the registration under the Securities Act of the Shares. At the time of such filing, the Company met the requirements of Form S-3 under the Securities Act.  Such registration statement meets the requirements set forth in Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Securities Act and complies with said Rule. The Company will file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, and the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Commission promulgated thereunder, a supplement to the form of prospectus included in such registration statement relating to the placement of the Shares and the plan of distribution thereof and has advised the Placement Agent of all further information (financial and other) with respect to the Company required to be set forth therein. Such registration statement, including the exhibits thereto, as amended at the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Registration Statement”; such prospectus in the form in which it appears in the Registration Statement is hereinafter called the “Base Prospectus”; and the supplemented form of prospectus, in the form in which it will be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) (including the Base Prospectus as so supplemented) is hereinafter called the “Prospectus Supplement.” Any reference in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”) pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 which were filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on or before the date of this Agreement, or the issue date of the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement, as the case may be; and any reference in this Agreement to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act after the date of this Agreement, or the issue date of the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement, as the case may be, deemed to be incorporated therein by reference. All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included,” “described,” “referenced,” “set forth” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement, as the case may be.  No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the use of the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement has been issued, and no proceeding for any such purpose is pending or has been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, is threatened by the Commission. For purposes of this Agreement, “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act and the “Time of Sale Prospectus” means the preliminary prospectus, if any, together with the free writing prospectuses, if any, used in connection with the Placement, including any documents incorporated by reference therein.

(B)           The Registration Statement (and any further documents to be filed with the Commission) contains all exhibits and schedules as required by the Securities Act. Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations and did not and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus Supplement, each as of its respective date, comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations. Each of the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus Supplement, as amended or supplemented, did not and will not contain as of the date thereof any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Incorporated Documents, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations, and none of such documents, when they were filed with the Commission, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein (with respect to Incorporated Documents incorporated by reference in the Base Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement), in light of the circumstances under which they were made not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, if any, or Prospectus Supplement, when such documents are filed with the Commission, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations, as applicable, and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. No post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement reflecting any facts or events arising after the date thereof which represent, individually or in the aggregate, a fundamental change in the information set forth therein is required to be filed with the Commission.  There are no documents required to be filed with the Commission in connection with the transaction contemplated hereby that (x) have not been filed as required pursuant to the Securities Act or (y) will not be filed within the requisite time period. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, if any, or Prospectus Supplement, or to be filed as exhibits or schedules to the Registration Statement, which have not been described or filed as required.

(C)           The Company is eligible to use free writing prospectuses in connection with the Placement pursuant to Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act.  Any free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.  Each free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or behalf of or used by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.  The Company will not, without the prior consent of the Placement Agent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus.

(D)           The Company has delivered, or will as promptly as practicable deliver, to the Placement Agent complete conformed copies of the Registration Statement and of each consent and certificate of experts, as applicable, filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits), the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus Supplement, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as the Placement Agent reasonably requests.  Neither the Company nor any of its directors and officers has distributed and none of them will distribute, prior to the Closing Date, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, if any, the Prospectus Supplement, the Registration Statement, copies of the documents incorporated by reference therein and any other materials permitted by the Securities Act.

SECTION 5. ENGAGEMENT TERM .  Rodman’s engagement hereunder will be for the period of 30 days. The engagement may be terminated by either the Company or Rodman at any time upon 10 days’ written notic