Some members of New Mexico's congressional delegation are throwing their support behind a push by the Obama administration to boost spending to address the nation's opioid and heroin epidemic.
The administration plans to seek a $1 billion increase over two years to expand access to treatment.
It will also seek more money for programs that help states and local governments execute drug prevention strategies and improve access to naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug.
Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall say the epidemic has devastated some New Mexico communities.
Heinrich says more New Mexicans died in 2014 of drug overdoses than in any other year on record.
That year there were about 547 people who died in the state due to drug poisoning, including deaths from prescription opioids and heroin overuse.
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