Fun can be a dangerous game.

I have historically been the party animal in my group although somewhere in my 30's I finally grew up. I think lol. For me and many others drinking and drugs in general became a way of life in the '80s and early '90s. The drugs change but the behavior seems to thread each generation.

I think our youth and naïvety make us do silly things in the interest of fun. Not everyone who drinks has a problem. However you don't need a drinking problem to die from alcohol.

I came across this article in Men's Health magazine that made me realize the subject is something I should breach with my daughters. You will have to grab the March issue to read it entirely but the point is there is a very short line between drinking to a buzz and drinking that shuts down your brain stem.

With all the focus on oxycodone, heroin and other hard drugs we overlook the danger of uneducated drinking. Kind of a weird oxymoron considering how much of this kind of drinking is done in college. Look, having a couple of drinks - even a few safely and responsibly - is fine.   However, taking on a dare to chug a bottle of vodka, tequila, bourbon or any hard liquor (even a small pint) is a borderline death wish. Many young people have died playing this dangerous game.

I loved Ron and Nancy but "just say no" was quite frankly ridiculous. Our children deserve to grow up and make their own decisions and as parents we need to give them honest communication and information.

Please understand I am not jumping on a soap box here; I just love my children (and all young people for that matter) and I have stood over a coffin of a young person and I'm telling you, you don't want to be that parent.

Whether you get the article from the magazine or gather the facts from the web, it is a conversation worth having. Just saying.