The Georgia House backed an effort Tuesday to help enforce limits on the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient in some allergy and cold medications that is also used to make methamphetamine.

House Bill 588 would provide supermarket and independent pharmacies with an electronic system to track purchases of products containing pseudoephedrine. State Rep. Valerie Clark, R-Lawrenceville, the bill's sponsor, has said 32 states already use similar systems, including all those surrounding Georgia.

The system would record a buyer’s information and enforce the purchasing limit of the substance, which in Georgia is currently 9 grams a month. The system would generate an alert if a purchase exceeds a buyer’s legal limit.

Under the bill, manufacturers of medications containing pseudoephedrine would pay for the system and offer its use free of charge to the state, pharmacies and law enforcement agencies.

HB 588 passed on a 151-19 vote and now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

About the Author

Keep Reading

With the closure of the labor and delivery unit in St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia, expectant mothers will instead be directed to deliver at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, about 45 miles away.  (Photo Illustration / Getty Images)

Credit: Getty Images

Featured

Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com