UK Parliament / Open data

Health Bill [HL]

Proceeding contribution from Lord Selsdon (Conservative) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 4 February 2009. It occurred during Debate on bills on Health Bill [HL].
My Lords, I do need a bit of help, because this is what people do now. I say, ““Isn’t there anything wrong with you?””. They say, ““No, there must be something””, and then they tell me that they have biliary cirrhosis. The current condition on which I could do with a bit of help is ankylosing spondylitis. I would appreciate it if anyone could help me, because one of our colleagues here would like some advice. What I find is that you can talk about health. It is a healthy thing to talk about. We really do have some good people; they hide their lights under bushels from time to time. Finally, I come to my major project of the year, and I will take only 30 seconds. There is a well known rock band called Moonlight. Its hit heavy metal record is effectively called ““Opium””. Project Moonlight, which I started, relates to the two countries that can use morphine legally in the form of codeine, France and the United Kingdom. I have talked to the drug companies. Morphine, in general, comes from poppy straw from India, Pakistan and Tasmania. I ask the Minister if we can get the drug companies together, to which they have agreed in principle, because you have to stop India and Pakistan producing morphine; I have suggested that Tasmania should produce wine instead, as it always used to. You then say, ““Look, if we are the two countries that can use codeine legally, could this country not place a substantial order in Afghanistan for our health service?””. That would work, as long as we did not pay all the money at once. I will write to the Minister on Project Moonlight after the Recess. I am sorry to have occupied noble Lords for a while, but I thought that I would think diagonally or laterally or, as some people would say, go off at a bloody tangent.

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

707 c737 

Session

2008-09

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber
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