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Some health advocates have begun pushing for a new category of drugs--under-the-counter medicines--that would fall between the prescription and OTC categories. Customers would have to ask a pharmacist for such drugs, like melatonin, and discuss their proper use. That's how it's done in Canada, says Dr. Ray Woolsey, chairman of the pharmacology department at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington. "Right now we have just an on-off switch for drugs--it's either over the counter or prescription," Woolsey says. "But for many drugs it would be better if we had a step in between."

Congress would have to pass new legislation to make it happen. Then the real battle--Who would pay for this new class of drugs, you or your insurer?--could begin.