Names Of Meth Distributors Would Go To Online Database

[Alfa]

GOVERNOR SIGNS ANTI-METH BILL


A statewide online database that links pharmacies to ensure customers don't buy more decongestants than medically necessary should be operating by fall, the head of Oklahoma's drug agency said Monday.


Connecting pharmacies statewide will allow pharmacists to check whether a customer already has bought a maximum amount of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine, said Lonnie Wright, director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.


The law will prevent people from buying more pseudoephedrine contained in cold medicines than the maximum amount allowed a month, or nine grams, he said.


The database system, which should be operational Nov. 1 when the new law takes effect, is being paid for with a $450,000 federal grant, Wright said.


The money will purchase the hardware and software, as well as provide for the connections.


With legislators and law officers looking on, Gov. Brad Henry signed the legislation Monday, slightly more than a year after signing the state's anti-meth bill, which restricts tablet sales of pseudoephedrine.


The measure mandates specific types of decongestant medicines that contain psuedoephedrine be placed behind drugstore counters and that buyers show their identification and sign a logbook before being allowed to buy the medicine.


"We make last year's law even stronger," Henry said.


Wright said some people who reach their limit at one pharmacy go to another pharmacy to buy more pseudoephedrine. The pharmacies have no way of checking with each other immediately to determine whether buyers have exceeded the legal limit.


Under the new bill, a computer tracking system will connect the bureau with each pharmacy, Wright said.


"Once you understand that pseudoephedrine is methamphetamine with an extra oxygen and hydrogen molecule that can be easily removed with household products, you can focus on that," he said.


"When an addict looks at an aisle full of peudoephedrine, he sees an aisle of methamphetamine; you see cold medication."


Wright said Henry recognized the problem and made it a "front-and-center major issue and helped propel last year's legislation and this year's legislation right on through, without getting caught in any political quagmires."


The measure will strengthen the anti-meth law, which has been credited with a significant drop in methamphetamine-related busts, Wright said.


Meth lab seizures have dropped by as much as 70 percent in some areas, he said.


Oklahoma's law is serving as a national role model. More than 25 other states are considering legislation that copies Oklahoma's anti-meth efforts. A handful of states have passed their own versions of the law, with more states expected to follow suit, Henry's office said.


Public Safety Commissioner Kevin Ward said the law creates a black market for pseudoephedrine.


"It will be more difficult, they'll have to go more underground," he said.


"They can't go to a local store to do it. They now have to make contacts with people who are involved in that kind of stuff."

[Alfa]

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.

Reputation Comments on this post:

vary infoming post

[jholmes800]

DEA Creates First-Ever National Meth Site Registry

DEC 5 -- (Washington, D.C.)-Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that, as a free public service, DEA’s webpage (www.dea.gov) will post locations in each state where known methamphetamine clandestine labs or dumpsites were located so that individuals can be aware of possible meth contaminated sites within their communities. This is the first such national listing of seized former meth sites available to the public.
“In a cruel twist of fate, people who have never used or manufactured meth have become some of its hardest hit victims after unknowingly buying property contaminated by chemicals and waste generated from a meth lab,” said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy. "This registry gives home owners a new tool to help them ensure that their dream house is not a hidden nightmare.”
The website will contain addresses reported by a variety of law enforcement agencies where chemicals or other items related to meth production were found or dumped. Users of this posting should be aware of its limitations – data is reported voluntarily from a wide variety of sources, and may not be comprehensive.
Concerned parties should check any entry of interest, by contacting local law enforcement and local health departments. Further, these entries should not be used as a substitute for advice from a licensed professional familiar with the specific facts and circumstances.
http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/wdo120506.html

Site that the registry can be found
http://www.dea.gov/seizures/index.html

Reputation Comments on this post:

good post

[Alfa]

Does anyone know if that online database of distributors and manufacturers of methamphetamine ever was realised? SWIM is in a nasty mood again and says he wants to send christmass cards.

[Jessica_Raven]

hhhmmmm can SWIM use this as a Yellow Pages? LOL

[darawk]

The whole "meth contamination" scam is such bullshit. The chems used in making meth are not *that* dangerous, except during the manufacturing process. Yet politicians and private companies alike profit from perpetuating this myth because only a "government certified" cleaning crew is allowed to clean up a "meth contaminated" building or site. Needless to say, these crews are extremely expensive.

[iFeaRNLoathiNg]

Swim thinks the "protection of housing" is only so they wouldn’t have to implement a similar database to reference other drug offensives. That almost changes the category methamphetamine falls in altogether. That makes it almost closer to Child Molestation or a sex offender crime then it is to an illicit substance. Seems like just another loss for Privacy, and another degree of control. If it was for the reason they say it's for, then wouldn’t it be the house address that goes into the DB???

[morrison]

How about the fact that the biggest criminals out there are the ones that come up with these "protection" laws. Swim hates to say it, but swim often feels that the only difference between the politicians-especially our lawmakers-that have been caught and convicted of committing some crimes and the others is that the others just haven't got caught. The only times they do anything are when election years roll around, when they have no option to do what the people want, or when it puts something in their pocket-yet it's always done in the name of protection to the masses. Yeah, right.

[Sitbcknchill]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Does anyone know if that online database of distributors and manufacturers of methamphetamine ever was realised? SWIM is in a nasty mood again and says he wants to send christmass cards.

So I picked up the local news paper the other day and on the front page was an article similar to this one that I am about to post below. Not sure if this is somewhere else on the site, it may be but I about fell over when I saw what they were doing. I for one will not be buying a box of suedo for a cold any time soon. It is just not worth the risk or the info they send away to the government. The article below is different to the one I was reading but I was not about to type the whole thing out. The feds look at who is buying but they can also track purchases by streets and localities to check and see if alot of people in the same neighborhood is buying it as well for the same cook. Be carefull kids as this, according to the article in the paper I was reading is working out quite well. They scan your drivers license upon purchase and use that information to track you wherever you buy cold medicine. Kentucky was doing this as a trial to see if it works and apparently it does just that. Look for it to come to your locality soon.

Originally Posted by Reference Article

Rogers Secures $580,000 to Go After Meth Labs - Marie Luby Reports WASHINGTON, DC.-U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) announced today that $580,000 is slated to fund technology that tracks ingredients used to produce methamphetamines. The funding measure passed a key House Committee and the money will go to the Commonwealth's Office of Drug Control Policy to be used across Kentucky, once the measure is signed into law.
A major component of any meth operation is a steady flow of pseudoephedrine, often found in over the counter cold medicines. Using a device called "Meth Check," transaction data is captured electronically on point of sale systems at pharmacies and other retailers, eliminating the need for paper records which are error-prone and often of limited use to law enforcement.
"We have to work smart - not just hard - to eliminate the drug scourge," said Rep. Rogers. "This technology gives law enforcement real time data, so we can find these dealers, take down their hidden labs and get these criminals and drugs off our streets."
if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('');if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']){ document.write(plpm['Mid-Story Ad']);} else { if(self['plurp'] && plurp['97']){} else {document.write(''); } }if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write(''); Laurel County was the first community in Kentucky to launch Meth Check. Within six months, nine meth labs were shut down as a direct result of monitoring purchase logs with this system.
Meth Check enables the compilation of a single electronic database and allows pharmacies to submit purchase transactions directly to law enforcement agencies and eliminates time consuming site visits. The technology also gives investigators the tools to identify shoppers who use various techniques to attempt to disguise excessive purchases.
Operation UNITE, which works to eliminate drug abuse in eastern Kentucky, has dismantled 55 meth labs and removed 5,145 grams of methamphetamine since 2004. With the funding, more Meth Check data from strategic locations across southern and eastern Kentucky will be submitted to UNITE detectives.

[momoftwinboys]

Originally Posted by Jessica_Raven

hhhmmmm can SWIM use this as a Yellow Pages? LOL

Seriously!! Swim wants a copy! LOL

[Alfa]

Computer System Used to Fight Meth


July 18, 2007 - 2:59pm
By SAMIRA JAFARI
Associated Press Writer
LONDON, Ky. (AP) - Detective Brian Lewis returns to his desk after lunch, scanning e-mails he missed.
One catches his eye: It says a suspected member of a methamphetamine ring bought a box of Sudafed at 1:34 p.m. at a CVS pharmacy.
Minutes later, Lewis is in his truck, circling the parking lot, searching for the woman.
Lewis did not find her that day, but the scenario illustrates the way law enforcement is increasingly relying on computerized tracking systems in their fight against meth, an illegal drug that is often brewed in makeshift labs and has become a particular scourge in Appalachia and the Midwest.
Tracking systems are gradually being installed in pharmacies nationwide in response to a federal law that, since March 2006, has regulated purchases of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth. Pseudoephedrine is found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, such as Sudafed.
Under federal law, customers must show photo ID to buy pseudoephedrine, and the legal limit for purchases is 9 grams per month _ roughly the equivalent of two 15-dose boxes of 24-hour Claritin D, or three 10-dose boxes of Aleve Cold & Sinus, or six 24-dose boxes of Sudafed.
Tracking systems like the one in use in Kentucky, MethCheck, automatically collect the buyer's name, address and age with a swipe of a driver's license or state-issued ID card.
Then the system notifies detectives via e-mail when a customer has exceeded the purchase limit. It also allows law enforcement to quickly spot suspicious patterns _ for example, someone who might be trying to skirt the purchase limits by going from pharmacy to pharmacy and buying a few packages at a time.
An updated version of MethCheck eventually will enable law enforcement to track purchases by neighborhood or street. That could help detectives spot instances in which a meth chemist enlists others in the neighborhood to buy pseudoephedrine for him, Lewis said.
In addition, the system can flag purchases by people already under suspicion among law enforcement authorities.
Kentucky is the first state to use MethCheck; it has been testing it out in Laurel County since mid-2005. MethCheck will be used at some 7,000 pharmacies in 43 states by next year, said to Rick Jones, spokesman for Louisville-based Appriss Inc., which developed MethCheck.
Lewis, who heads the MethCheck initiative at Operation UNITE, a federally funded drug task force in Kentucky, said he has used the system to build cases against dozens of people.
Consumer privacy watchdogs are troubled by the technology, worrying that people with colds or allergies could come under suspicion for unwittingly exceeding the purchasing limits by stocking up for themselves or family members. That has happened to at least eight people in Kentucky, according to Lewis.

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=104&sid=1192881

Oh god: http://www.operationunite.org/index.php
http://www.operationunite.org/newsro...t_from=&ucat=6

Reputation Comments on this post:

yep thats the one

[Sitbcknchill]

^^^ Ahhh that was the article I read.

[Heretic.Ape.]

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_n...ry/191198.html

[top]Drugstores enhance tracking tools

By LESLIE WIMMER
Star-Telegram staff writer


A computer software system designed for the convenience of drugstore employees is now being used to help law enforcement officials fight the illegal production of methamphetamine.
Walgreens began using an in-house tracking program in spring 2006, company spokeswoman Carol Hively said. Wal-Mart also keeps track of purchases electronically.
By the end of August, all Texas CVS pharmacies expect to have a tracking system in place, CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis said.
CVS customers now must show identification and sign a paper log for medicine that contains pseudoephedrine.
Paper logs make tracking repeat buyers difficult for employees and police, DeAngelis said.
The electronic logs are easier for customers and employees to use, DeAngelis said. Helping police is just a positive side effect.
The new method, which still requires a signature, logs a customer's identifying information into a computer. If a customer's purchase exceeds the federal limits of 3.6 grams per day or 9 grams every 30 days, the system blocks the transaction.
President Bush signed a law in March 2006 that made it harder to buy cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in meth.
From 2000 to 2005, the Tarrant County Organized Crime Unit broke up about 100 local meth labs each year, said H.G. Tebay, commander of the crime unit. After the 2006 law was enacted, that number dropped to fewer than 10 per year, Tebay said.
Mexican meth labs are trying to fill the void, and crime-unit officials are working on ways to track the imported drugs back to Mexico. At the same time, area drug stores are helping discourage local production.
Customers who consistently try to buy more than the daily limit of drugs containing pseudoephedrine are flagged in the drugstore's system.
The computer logs are given to police, and repeat buyers can be tracked down, said Hively, the Walgreens spokeswoman.
CVS is a using software called MethCheck. Appriss Inc., a Kentucky technology company, invented MethCheck in 2005 as a way to help state officials find meth labs.
Kentucky pharmacies tested the program in early 2005.
"When the program first started, within a six-month period we were able to bust half a dozen meth labs," Appriss spokesman Rick Jones said.
Appriss is working with other pharmacy chains to create a nationwide tracking system so repeat buyers can't go from chain to chain buying pseudoephedrine to create meth, Jones said.
"We're not sure that [MethCheck] will ever completely wipe out meth labs, but it certainly will curtail the production," Jones said.

[Alfa]

Is there any more news on this topic? Has this project advanced?