"People are quietly dying in their bed almost every day, and it draws no attention," said San Diego police Detective Kevin Barnard, who specializes in prescription-drug cases. "The focus is on the cocaine dealer. We overlook the average person who has an addiction."

Federal officials call prescription-drug addiction a disturbing shift in the country's drug-misuse patterns. While deaths related to prescription drugs are increasing, deaths from heroin and cocaine are decreasing in many parts of the country.

"Medical professionals have been caught off guard by the magnitude of the problem," said H. Westley Clark, head of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

According to Clark, thousands of people have died from legal drugs, and millions more are addicted to them. A 2002 Justice Department report estimated that 6.2 million Americans misused legal narcotic painkillers, while 4.1 million Americans used cocaine.

"We do not believe people should be living their lives in pain, but we think medical practices have to be safe and effective," said Clark. "The balance between appropriate pain intervention and maintaining legitimate therapeutic need -- that's the issue."

To address the growing problem, the White House Office of Drug Control Policy is planning to spend more than $100 million in the next fiscal year for prescription-drug education.

"The power and the risk of death from prescription drugs pose a different kind of problem than we have seen," said John Walters, director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy.

In addition, the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is examining new ways to monitor prescription drugs. "Over the past 10 years the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs has grown from a regional crisis to a national epidemic," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

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