Coming of age
In the United States, teenagers are allowed to drive at 16 in all states except New Jersey, which requires drivers to be 17 and older, and sometimes receive the responsibility of owning their own car. Teenagers may drive at age 15 in Idaho and Montana. At 16, teenagers are also old enough to donate blood and work in most establishments. At 18 one is legally considered an adult and can vote and join the military. The legal age for purchasing and consuming alcohol and recreational marijuana, the latter of which is only legal in the District of Columbia, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Alaska, is 21. The legal age for purchasing and consuming tobacco products is 18 in most states; 19 in Alabama, Alaska and Utah; and 21 in California, New Jersey, Oregon, Hawaii and Maine. Multiple localities have also raised the minimum purchase age independent of state laws.
Emerging adulthood and early adulthood
Compared to other terms that have been used which give the impression that this stage is just a "last hurrah" of adolescence, "emerging adulthood" recognizes the uniqueness of this period of life. Currently, it is appropriate to define adolescence as the period spanning ages 12 to 18. This is because people in this age group in the United States typically live at home with their parents, are undergoing pubertal changes, attend middle schools and high schools and are involved in a "school-based peer culture". All of these characteristics are no longer normative after the age of 18, and it is, therefore, considered inappropriate to call young adults "adolescence" or "late adolescence". Furthermore, in the United States, the age of 18 is the age at which people are able to legally vote and citizens are granted full rights upon turning 21 years of age.