A number of states have either created online public registries of methamphetamine offenders or are considering doing so, MSNBC reported Dec. 6.

Officials in states like Tennessee and Montana, where registries are already in place, say the public has a right to know if convicted drug offenders are living in their neighborhood.

"It lets the community know that there's someone like this in their community, because the likelihood of them going back and doing it again is high," said Georgia state Rep. Mike Coan, who has proposed a meth-offender registry in his state. "It's no different, really, from the sex offender (registry). If there's one living near me, I want to know it."

Tennessee is one of four states with an online meth-offender registry, starting the first in the U.S. in 2005; it now includes the name of 400 offenders. Similar bills have been introduced in Oklahoma, Washington, Kentucky and West Virginia; Illinois and Minnesota are in the process of implementing meth registries.

The registries are seen as a public-safety weapon against meth-lab operators who open clandestine labs full of potentially lethal chemicals. But critics see the lists as counterproductive.

"The problem with these registries is that we're creating a class of untouchables within our society who cannot rent apartments or secure employment," said Jonathan Turley of George Washington University. "When you diminish the likelihood that ex-felons can live and work in society, you increase the chances that they will return to criminal behavior."

The proposed Georgia law would require meth offenders to be listed on the registry for seven years; the registry would include the offender's photo and address. A proposed federal law, introduced by Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), would go even further, calling for a national registry listing anyone convicted of manufacturing, distributing or dispensing any illegal drug.

Pearce's registry, endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, would include drug offenders' current addresses and license plate numbers; the information could remain online permanently.