Dear Reader,

It seems strange that an unknown person or company would send your boyfriend an unmarked package of pills, for no apparent reason. It's even wackier that, if he didn't know what they were, he'd try them anyway... WITH ALCOHOL. You might talk about these events with your boyfriend before putting time and energy into researching the identity of the mystery drug(s). Is it possible that the parcel was jokemail from a friend? Could your boyfriend have an ailment unknown to you? Does he share the same name as a family member? Maybe the stuff was sent to him erroneously. Could your boyfriend be dabbling in illicit drug use and trying to keep it a secret?

Your horror at your boyfriend taking one of the pills is completely understandable. It is risky to ingest any pills, or other substance for that matter, that is unknown, and especially, unidentified. This is similar to the idea that sharing prescription drugs is not a good plan. Moreover, mixing alcohol with other substances can have unexpected, and sometimes dangerous, consequences. See Mysterious meds arrive in the mail [Reader's Response] for more information.

You may want to talk with him about these issues, no matter what the true identity of these pills are. Some conversation starters to try are:

• "I'm concerned that you took one of those pills. I care about you, and wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."
• "I'm curious about what made you decide to pop one of those pills the other night."
• "I'm confused about this whole situation. How are you feeling about it?"
• "When you took that pill the other night, what were you hoping would happen?"

If there's still no explanation, or if you're not satisfied with one that's given, you and your mate could put the pills in a secure container and save the envelope they arrived in. You could bring the pills to your pharmacist to have them identified. However, if you are concerned about their origin and the possibility that they are a controlled substance, you can always make a report to the Postal Service and police about them showing up in your mailbox.

Your experience is a good reminder for all of us to periodically check our medicine cabinets for any expired, re-bottled, or unidentified pills hanging around. The safest bet is to keep all medications in their original bottles or packets, with pertinent labeling and instructions attached, to avoid confusion and mistakes. Also, dispose of medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, by the date of expiration printed on their original packaging. You may want to flush them down the toilet or put them in a closed trash container, so unwitting children and/or pets don't eat them accidentally.