NAMES OF METH DISTRIBUTORS WOULD GO TO ONLINE DATABASE

The names of distributors and manufacturers of methamphetamine may
become more easily learned by the public if a bill requiring their
names to be entered into an online database becomes law.

Monday, House Republican leaders offered legislation creating an
online registry designed to further deter meth distributors and
manufacturers and protect property owners. The registry, proposed by
House Bill 3121, would contain the names of people convicted and
sentenced for the crime.

House Speaker Todd Hiett, R-Kellyville, said he hopes the Web site
would help keep the public safe and discourage continued meth use.

"This registry will allow citizens to protect themselves, and allow
users to heal themselves," he said. Offenders would be removed from
the registry if they go seven years without another meth conviction.

The bill would allow property owners to run a search to ensure they
do not sell or rent to a meth manufacturer or distributor.

The cost to maintain the site is unclear, but a similar site's
upstart in Tennessee was $200,000, said Lonnie Wright, director of
the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.