Connecticut’s U.S. Senators, Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, Monday called on local, state and federal officials to have a unified and immediate response to the state’s growing heroin epidemic and outlined several programs they will support to combat heroin overdoses in Connecticut and the rest of the country.

In Connecticut and other states in New England, deaths related to heroin use have spiked in the last year. Commissioner Patricia Rehmer of the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services said last week that on average one person dies every day in Connecticut from an opioid overdose. Heroin is an opiate.

The Democratic senators said in a press release that they met Monday with local service providers, law enforcement and health care advocates.

“This dramatic increase of heroin use and abuse in Connecticut is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” said Murphy. “Our state has lost hundreds more people to heroin use in the last year, but we’re not doing enough to change the way we address this crisis. This is a complex problem that requires better coordination between governments, health care providers, and law enforcement so that resources are allocated in the most effective way possible. I’m committed to fighting for increased support for all those addressing this epidemic – we can’t wait any longer.”

“Heroin deaths in Connecticut have doubled over the past year, a burgeoning, exploding crisis that requires immediate, substantial attention—from law enforcement, from medical and mental health professionals, and from our communities,” said Blumenthal. “There is no room for turf wars—this epidemic requires the attention and collaboration of federal, state and local officials. There is a beltway of cheap, highly toxic and highly pure heroin coming into the country and our communities from organized corporate cartels in Colombia and Mexico. We cannot mince words or waste time. These cartels are making billions of dollars at the expense of our lives and health and we need to crack down hard.”

The senators said they would support increased funding for treatment through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Obama administration recently requested level funding at $1.8 billion despite the increase in heroin overdoses, according to the senators.

Murphy and Blumental also called for stable federal funding for the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, which comprises of local and state police and the Drug Enforcement Agency, and for funding from the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program to crack down on trafficking rings and suppliers in Connecticut’s largest cities that are the main source of heroin for the state.

The senators called also for increased prevention to target heroin use and prescription drug abuse; increased availability of the heroin overdose prevention drug, Nalaxone; and the passage of a Good Samaritan law that provides immunity to anyone who administers the drug. They said hospitals, addiction services centers, elected officials, law enforcement and others should come together to address the underlying cause of prescription drug abuse and the transiton that many addicts make to heroin.