dr. matthew torrington is medical director of the prometa center of los angeles.s done addiction research at ucla and started prescribing prometa two years ago. torrington says, for an addict, prometa is like brakes on a car. >> you're asking them to go down the arduous road of recovery without the ability to stop, and their brain says go, and it's on, okay? and they just don't have the ability to say no. because their brain told them that they were hungry for drugs the way you would be hungry for air with a plastic bag over your head. >> the three drugs used in prometa were approved by the fda years ago, but not for addiction treatment. one was approved to treat overdoses of sedatives, another to treat seizures, and the other to calm anxiety. in the 1990s, a spanish doctor put them together. the theory is they alter brain chemistry to end craving. one patient explained it like this. >> he said, "look, torrington, before the treatment, my thoughts went, 'cocaine, cocaine, cocaine, cocaine, cocaine, cocaine, cocaine.' after the treatment, my thoughts went, 'cocaine