Four states currently have Internet registries listing the names of people convicted of making or selling methamphetamines, and six others are considering the creation of similar registries, USA Today reported Aug. 23.

Montana was the first state to create a meth-offender registry, back in 2003; within the last 18 months, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Illinois also have created such online lists. States currently considering meth registries include Georgia, Maine, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia.

The Tennessee registry, for example, lists more than 400 methamphetamine offenders. State officials say the list helps warn property-owners against renting or selling to people previously convicted of operating meth labs. A spokesperson for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Minnesota's registry will "arm citizens with information, so they can protect themselves and their communities."

Information included in the registries usually includes offenders' names, date of birth, offenses, and date and location of conviction. The lists are similar to state sex-offender lists except that they don't include offenders' photos or addresses.

Any legal challenge to the registries is likely to revolve around the question of whether meth offenders are as big a threat to the public as sex offenders, since the U.S. Supreme Court has already upheld the legality of sex-offender registries. But Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU's Drug Policy Litigation Project, said there's a more practical reason for states to think twice about setting up meth-offender registries: "One group for whom this registry is going to be an incredibly good resource is people looking to buy methamphetamine," he said.