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.
Ages of consent in the United States
Laws against "contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child" (§ 2919.24) and "interference with custody" (§ 2919.23) may be used against those who have sex with those who are 16 and 17 if a parent or guardian complains. These two crimes are not considered to be sexual offenses. In 1989 Donald Edgar Lukens was prosecuted under the misdemeanor charge "contributing to the delinquency and unruliness of a child" for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. At the time he was 58 years old, and he received a 30-day jail sentence.
The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16. A close-in-age exemption applies if the minor was over the age of 14 and the actor was age 18 or younger.