Mary Kaye Huntsman, Utah's first lady, was laughed at for refusing to smoke a marijuana joint when she was a teenager.

"It was a night I'll never forget," she said Tuesday night at a town meeting held at the University of Utah.

At the time, she said, she didn't know why she passed up the offer — right in front of all the "popular kids." But she said it was a turning point in her life.

Huntsman told her audience that getting the community to talk about the problems facing teenagers is critical because it is a time in their lives when they face important decisions.

"Sometimes that peer pressure is all it takes to push them over the edge," she said.

Every year, she said, more and more kids are being pressured in situations they are not prepared to handle, with alcohol abuse being one of the many growing concerns.

Underage drinking problems in Utah are on the rise, said Barbara Sullivan, associate director of the Utah Addiction Center in Salt Lake City. The average age teens in Utah begin to experiment with alcohol, she said, is 12. Also, 15 percent of the 86,000 Utah teens who have tried alcohol are in need of treatment.

"We are seeking to do everything we can to delay the onset of alcohol use at least until the age of 21," Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said. "Young people who begin drinking at age 15 or younger have a 40 percent chance of becoming an alcoholic later in life."

Hundreds gathered at the university's Fine Arts Building and at other meeting places throughout the state Tuesday to discuss viable options to combat underage drinking. Anderson believes open discussion involving the facts and scientific research is the only way to reach teens.

"By getting this information out, you can make a tremendous difference," he said.

The meetings are part of a nationwide effort by the federal Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration to curb teenage drinking habits. According to federal statistics, nearly 30 percent of youths ages 12-20 consumed alcohol within the last 30 days and nearly 3 percent of high school seniors in America have said they drink on a daily basis. This year, the Utah State Legislature passed the "EASY" bill, meant to eliminate alcohol sales to youth. Cutting the supply at the source, said Salt Lake County Substance Abuse Division director Pat Fleming, will help delay the onset of use among teens.

"Prevention is the key," he said.

Parents are strongly encouraged to "get involved" in their child's life, said assistant psychiatry professor Kelly Lundberg.

"But if you're going to ask your kids about alcohol, you better be open to hearing their answer," she said.

The current programs for teaching kids about drugs and alcohol are among the best Lundberg said she's seen. She encouraged people to take advantage of the information available.

"The younger you start talking to your kids, the younger they realize it is safe to come to you," Sullivan said.

Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill said if parents wait for law enforcement to step in, it's too late. "It has to be a community effort," he said. "It starts in the family, at the schools and starts with an open dialogue." Huntsman said she's "just a mom, not an expert," but remembering what she went through and talking about it with her kids has helped them make their own decisions before they are faced with the problem.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com