LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish is overseeing double the number of mental health cases compared to 2023, a dramatic increase he attributes largely to THC products.
County records show 180 mental health applications were filed in 2023, and skyrocketed to 353 in 2025.
“It is becoming almost a daily thing. We’re having two and three of these a day,” Parrish said.
Judge Parrish says while not all cases stem from THC, he believes it is playing a big part in the spike.
“It’s not that they’re getting high and then getting sober over the weekend and going to work on Monday,” Parrish said. “This is actually flipping people, it’s flipping [a switch] in their brains and they’re turning manic.”
When an emergency application is filed in a mental health case, Judge Parrish must decide whether the person is a threat to themselves or others. If the answer is yes, they are sent to a hospital or psychiatric facility like Sunrise Canyon or Oceans Behavioral Hospital.
The judge says that’s not an easy decision to make, which underscores the gravity of what THC is doing to people in our area.
“What we’re doing is taking away their constitutional rights, we’re taking away their liberty and forcing them into mental health care,” Parrish said. “Ideally it’s for their safety and the safety of our community, but we don’t take that lightly.”
Lubbock State Senator Charles Perry says he’s also heard of THC-induced psychosis ruining lives.
Perry led the charge to ban consumable THC products during the last legislative session, saying allowing hemp products to legally sell led to an involuntary recreational market across the state.
“It has been exactly what we feared it would be. It’s not good for you, it’s addicting and a gateway drug,” Perry said.
Parrish says the increase in THC-induced mental health issues and subsequent increase in facility admissions is stretching Lubbock County’s resources thin.
“It has just been almost overwhelming and overtaxing us here at the court, overtaxing our mental hospitals,” Parrish said. “We’re in the process of building more bed space but we can’t build it fast enough and we can’t build enough to see the volume of cases in Lubbock County.”
That strain on resources is another reason Senator Perry pushed for a ban, rather than restrictions.
“We will be picking up the tab in the fall out on addiction counseling and the mental illness that comes with it: paranoia, schizophrenia, psychosis, all of the factors if we don’t stop it now,” Perry said.
Governor Abbott vetoed an outright ban on THC consumables last year, instead calling upon TABC and DSHS to create regulations for the industry.
Even though it was already shot down before, Perry said he plans to file another bill banning the products next session.
He also plans to focus on other legalized substances, like Kratom and mushrooms.
“It’s just one thing after another, people that are dealing in addiction and benefitting billions of dollars off of finding a new path,” Perry said.
When it comes to the recent regulations put in place, Senator Perry says he wants to see stores held accountable.
“It’s my goal to fund DSHS to pull licenses and to fine the bejeebies [sic.] out of them and then come back and make them criminal offenses,” Perry said.
Judge Parrish agrees with an outright THC ban, saying he does not see the benefit of restricted or medicinal products.
“I know there is a medical benefit, but what I’m seeing is the adverse effect on mental health far outweighs the medical benefit of this,” Parrish said.
Ultimately, though, it is up to the state legislature or federal government to finalize any rules surrounding THC and hemp products. Both Senator Perry and Judge Parrish say they hope to see movement on legislation moving forward.
“My hope is that because of last session, because of the daily reminders of what this stuff is and how bad it’s going, that the educational awareness alone has brought people to the table,” Perry said. “I would hope that the governor see fit that not once but twice this has been a priority of the legislature that was voted for.”
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