According to this article [1], Hastings describes himself as a "a recovering drunk/addict/screw-up." In another True/Slant piece, he says, "I have smoked crack." He crashed a car in a drunk-driving accident at 19.
It's funny how geeks, who pride themselves on rationality, throw Occam's Razor out the window at the drop of a hat.
[1] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/06/21/LA-Weekly...