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
First, a person must have committed sexual contact (that is, intentional touching of intimate parts for sexual gratification) while the victim was under 13 and the assailant was over four years older. Or, second, a person must have committed sexual penetration (defined above under aggravated sexual assault) while "not" using force and either (1) the victim was 16 or 17 and one of the following conditions was true:
or (2) the victim was between 13 and 15 and the assailant was over four years older. (All other conditions for simple sexual assault do not impact the NJ age of consent.)