What Is the Oklahoma Meth Registry?
Oklahoma’s strict drug crime laws include extremely strict laws on methamphetamines. The state legislature created the Oklahoma Methamphetamine Offender Registry Act to keep people with previous methamphetamine convictions from purchasing the supplies needed to make meth.
The Act requires the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control to maintain a registry of people convicted of methamphetamine-related crimes. 63 O.S. § 2-701. Anyone who is convicted of a crime based on a guilty or nolo contendere plea, who receives a suspended or deferred sentence, who is on parole or probation for these crimes will be on the registry. Crimes implicated include possession, conspiracy, manufacturing, distribution, and trafficking of methamphetamines or a “precursor”, and attempts to perform these crimes. A precursor is a chemical that can be turned into methamphetamine.
The Bureau collects information listed in the Registry by obtaining copies of court judgments from district court clerks. People who receive deferred sentences must submit a registration form within 30 days of entering a plea or being sentenced. If you do not submit the form, you can be charged with a misdemeanor.
Anyone listed on the Registry will commit an additional crime if they purchase, possess, or control pseudoephedrine, regardless of whether they have a prescription. Pseudoephedrine is used to make meth and is commonly available in cough syrups at the drug store. The crime is punishable as a felony by two to ten years of imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. Assisting anyone who is on the Registry with purchasing pseudoephedrine is also a crime, punishable as a misdemeanor with one year of imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. 63 O.S. § 2-701.
Offender names fall off the Registry 10 years after their most recent judgment and sentence. People who complete their deferred sentences can ask the Bureau to take their names off the Registry by providing a copy of the case dismissal document.
The Registry allows law enforcement and sellers of pseudoephedrine products to check people’s names and see if they committed prior meth-related crimes. Sellers must refuse to sell pseudoephedrine to anyone listed on the Registry.
Need an attorney for drug charges in Oklahoma? Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor now using his trial experience to defend Oklahomans accused of drug crimes, has the experience and the insight to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your case. To schedule a case evaluation, visit Patterson Law Firm online or call Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.