Actor Daniel Baldwin has spoken out about the dangers of becoming addicted to prescription drugs, warning it's easy to accidentally develop a habit. The recovering drug addict insists the problem of abusing prescription medication is an epidemic that is currently sweeping Hollywood.

And, following the news that police found sleeping pills by Heath Ledger's bed after his sudden death last week, Baldwin hopes authorities will turn their attention to the growing problem.

He says, "They (authorities) are not really regulating the number of prescriptions that can be made to someone. So now you can go and ask a doctor and say, 'I have this pain,' and it's like (handing) out candy. They will give you Vicodin and these things and you can get hooked on them so quickly, it's scary. I've never been hooked on prescription meds. But the problem is how sneaky this disease is. These people probably had - the vast majority of them - a legitimate reason, a concern. They've had surgery on their back, they've had some kind of problem, where they've took these medications and they were given them with the best intentions.

"As you start to go along, and you don't realize - and it's not given to you educationally - that you can become dependent on these drugs - and, after a little while, you start to say, 'You know what, maybe two will make me feel a bit better.'"

Ledger, 28, was found dead in his New York apartment last Tuesday. An autopsy failed to reveal how the actor died, although police believe his death could be drug-related as prescription medication was found by his bed.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)