One main reason for this, he said, is the speed with which the drug has its effect.
"It rapidly induces unconsciousness and apnea," Olshansky said. "People stop breathing within seconds of being given the drug."
These characteristics of the drug make it an exceedingly unusual choice for abuse, said Dr. Jeff Guy of Vanderbilt University, who said such a situation would represent "a quantum leap in the issue of substance abuse."
But despite the effects and risk profile of the drug, Nearman said that patients who've had the drug describe it as inducing "a very pleasant sleep" that "has the potential to be habit-forming."
And Dr. Bruce Goldberger, chief of forensic pathology at the University of Florida, noted that the drug "also acts as an aphrodisiac in men -- it has been reported that men have very vivid sexual dreams while under Propofol anesthesia."
The discovery of the drugs in Jackson's home marks a point at which federal agents had begun to define their role in the Michael Jackson death probe and shape their team which would work to assist the Los Angeles Police Department.
The LAPD robbery and homicide division is the lead agency on the case, and the Drug Enforcement Administration's Diversion Division is assisting.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, said the doctor had prescribed neither OxyContin nor Demerol to the pop icon. He has not commented on Diprivan.
ABC News' Roger Sergel contributed to this report.
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