Ruben NAVARRETTE JR.

Welcome to the real drug war. And the front line may be as near as your medicine cabinet.

A new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse finds that the number of Americans who abuse prescription drugs nearly doubled in just over a decade — from 7.8 million in 1992 to 15.1 million in 2003. That more recent figure exceeds the number of Americans estimated to be abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin — combined.

You might be shocked to hear that. But something tells me that Tom Cruise isn't so surprised. You'll recall that the movie star recently got into a rhetorical shoving match with, well, just about everyone over whether prescription drugs should be used to treat mental illness.

Read the full commentary: Psychiatric Drug Addiction - Tom Cruise is probably not surprised