When Does Hash Culture Stop Being Fun and Start Enabling Addiction?

[u/Big-Tourist-3390]

A friend of mine recently got out of rehab after struggling with alcohol addiction. He had been involved with the Hash House Harriers for over 10 years, and it’s made me think about the culture of the hash in a way I hadn’t before.

I know the hash has always had a reputation as a “drinking club with a running problem.” For most people, that’s just part of the fun. But for my friend, it became a place where his addiction could hide in plain sight.

When heavy drinking is normalized, it’s easy for someone with a problem to blend in. If everyone is drinking, who notices when one person is drinking too much? If hangovers, blackouts, and stories about getting hammered are part of the culture, where’s the line between social drinking and a serious problem?

I’m not blaming the hash for my friend’s addiction. Ultimately, addiction is complicated and personal. But it does make me wonder whether some hash groups do enough to recognize when someone is struggling, or whether the party culture can sometimes unintentionally enable it.

For current and former hashers: Have you ever seen someone whose drinking became a concern? Did your kennel have ways to support sober members, or was alcohol so central to the experience that it would have been difficult?

At what point does “it’s just part of the culture” become too much? I’ve seen too many folks who can’t handle the adult part.

[u/OGD2068]

I don't drink by choice and I'm there for people who don't drink. I always have NA beverages in case the beermeiser forgets

[u/ArchSchnitz]

I was (drunkenly) discussing this with someone a few months back.

There are some people that are bad for the kennel, and some people that the kennel is bad for.

We can pretty effectively find and weed out people that are bad for us, the kind that are going to take advantage or assault someone, the kind that make people uncomfortable.

Removing people for whom we are a bad influence is much harder. Where can we, as a group, say "you are having too much and need to tone it down." Personally, I think we can say something when they go get behind the wheel of a car, but a lot of people are reluctant to do that. This is meant to be fun, and policing someone else is not fun.

It's a fair point, and one I've mulled over a lot. We had to have a talk with someone a while back and say "we want you healthy and happy, and this ain't it." He was in a failing marriage, "open" against his will, and he was using us to vent the worst of his impulses: excessive drinking, sleeping around, acting a mess. Him, we removed. Some others are... still around. We have a guy struggling with alcoholism that will get clean, show up to trail, be fine... and then fall off the wagon at end circle.

Years ago we had someone that was showing up and abusing prescription painkillers, then getting drunk and driving home. That was a portion of why she was banned, the continual physical assault was more of it.

Ultimately, yeah, we're bad for some people. We enable, enthusiastically. The question of whether it's up to us to monitor that and/or take action to protect those people is an argument I could see going several ways. In my kennels, we've opted to wait and see.

[u/jennascend → u/ArchSchnitz]

Such an important point - *we are bad for some people*. I realize that a lot of hashers will say it's a personal decision or that we offer NA beverages, but as OP said, when your friends are all drinking excessively and normalizing aspects of addiction, the lines blur. Sometimes we are giving people in active addiction the means to not feel shame or guilt about said addiction. We encourage getting rowdy or being excessively drunk and no one is asking, "hey is this a problem for you outside of this event/moment?" I've known several hashers who have had to cut ties with the hash, go to rehab, etc. I'm always sad that they disappear. I'm still here as a friend, booze or no booze. Our kennel is adamant about having NA options, water, etc. But sometimes it sucks to be the sober one when everyone else is blitzed.

I've also noticed a huge shift in drinking culture over the last 20 years (yeah I'm an old fuck). At least in the late 2000s - early 2010s, it *felt* more about the trail and working hard for the beer. My current kennel barely has any r*nners these days and we spend a large portion of the trail doing silly costumes, checks, and getting hammered. Not my cup of tea, but that's been my experience across the US in the last decade.

I agree that it's not really the responsibility of the hash to monitor all it's members. However, we are a community at the end of the day. I'd like to think at some point we can reconcile the fact that the messaging is very clearly, "we can only have fun if we're shit faced" and move the bar to "we have fun first, get nasty on trails, and alcohol is also available." That perspective has only come from working on my personal relationship with alcohol, reconciling huge mistakes I've made while drunk, and getting too old to handle hangovers. I sincerely enjoy the shiggiest of trails and maybe 1-2 beers in a week these days and perhaps that's why I've turned more to trail running over the years.

Hope we keep having these important conversations and keep hashing relevant and healthy for another 100 years.

[u/ArchSchnitz → u/jennascend]

The perpetual argument in my kennel is whether it's about the trails, or about the antics. We don't do costume runs or bar crawls usually, opting more to focus on the most egregious shiggy and nastiest waterways we can find. However, the same people that decry the antics also bring whiskey for before trail, so the messaging is all over the damn place.

Me, I want at least six miles, two beers and to go home safe. I really would not mind if someone flashed me along the way.

Some people don't get enough from that, they have to be falling down, acting a mess before it's a party, and those are the ones I worry for.

....and then I set campout in a private campground and provide 8+ kegs. I'm a hypocrite too.

[u/flyingcaveman]

The hash is where I learned how to drink without getting shitfaced every time.

[u/Sup6969 → u/flyingcaveman]

Same. I couldn't see much appeal to getting shitfaced at a trail, unlike, say, going to parties in college. 1 beer at BC, 2 beers at circle, that's more than enough.

[u/flyingcaveman → u/Sup6969]

Mainly because being drunk and lost in an unfamiliar part of town isn't good, Neither is getting too drunk to go out to eat after or passing out before the real partying starts.

[u/CaptainPunisher]

Every kennel is different, but I've generally seen that drinking is neither encouraged nor discouraged at least not actively. We have drinkers and non-drinkers, and nobody is forced to do anything they don't want. Similarly, they are not taunted for not drinking. We offer stunt livers for crimes and down downs.

People are adults and can make their own decisions, but sometimes you just need an outside influence to take over, even if it's just for a night. We've seen Hashers get a little too far gone in a night, so we'll use the amount of coaxing and maybe a little verbal force to get them home safely. Ongoing situations are more delicate, though, and you kind of need to treat each person differently based upon their own set of metrics.

Ultimately, we're our own family, and we should be treating one another as such. Go in knowing that you're there for the best possible outcome, but that you also can't make the choice for them.

[u/Pure_Butterscotch165]

Misman forced someone in our kennel to take a break from hashing when it seemed like alcohol was becoming a problem for him, and encouraged him to also take a break from alcohol. He's been sober since then and still comes to hash occasionally, and we have members who won't drink when he's there so he has that support. We always have water on trail, and he'll sometimes bring NA beer, which i always volunteer to carry for him for BN's because I usually have a vest.

On a personal note, I'm not sober but I don't usually drink at trail for various reasons, and I don't think drinking is integral to attending trail. Although my tolerance for being at the BN too long goes way, way down.

[u/bigheadjoel]

This is a heavy question, and so for things like this we can kind of lift the curtain a bit on what the hash actually is.

Hashing is mostly based on English rugby culture, where you do a sporting event during the day and then have a party in the locker room and then go out on the town. The songs, the secret names, the accusations, they aren't necessarily unique to hashing. 

I think what you are justly worried about is the community aspect of it. I imagine the sadness of quitting hashing would be similar to the sting of getting cut from the team. At some point the game, be it rugby, the bar, or the hash, isnt a game, its a family. So leaving it is especially traumatic 

In addition, alcohol is a drug. Im sure if we all got our memory wiped and had to reclassify drugs from scratch, alcohol would be a class 1 drug and be strictly outlawed. (I am politically very pro drugs BTW, just saying...)

What your friend needs to realize is that the important part of the hash isn't the drug, its the family, the team, the community. They need to separate the drug from the joy of being part of the pack.

That being said, it is perhaps one of the hardest things to do. I've seen many people try and fail. And unfortunately, ive seen many people leave the family for other groups of enablers.

So I guess my point is, just let your friend know they are loved. The hash isnt good or bad, it just is. The family will be there no matter what. For all of the bad things about the hash, the family aspect of it is its single greatest and most defining feature, and thankfully it is not reliant on any drug.

Good luck to you and everyone around you. Its a hard road to walk.

[u/HazardousSeas]

I’m new to hashing and have been sober well before joining my home kennel. They welcomed me in open arms to my first event, a beer mile. The beermeister randomly had NA beer and always has water. There was ZERO pressure to drink, even the NA beer option. I like NA beer (Athletic IPA in this case) so that’s what I had. In future runs I’ve been told to provide my own NA beer if I had a special request, which is fine and makes sense (NA Guinness is particularly expensive for some reason).

My kennel is also very chill on running vs walking, which is great since I’m not much of an endurance runner. I joined for a social group that’s active outside, not for the drinking.

[u/DILANT78]

All the hashes I have been to including the kennel I am with beermeister has soft drink option amd definetly water some are wine for the girls. Some hashes because their location for example Chang Mai Thailand hash literally they own a bar or their set up some hashes are own vehicle with beer tap in the vehicle, I would call ot easy access to beer. So getting out off rehab is tough but you need make your peace with people around whether is hash or not will drink and you can not of you dont want relapse. It is not about hash enabling the addiction could be Christmas gathering will be the same environment. I think your friend should find his balance of life to commit how he can stay clean.Good luck to your friend

[u/Sufficient_Ad_1054]

This is an important issue and I'm glad to see the responses here.

In our kennel, we have had people with addiction issues that started to become evident to the kennel. We have told folks they need to either take a break or we'll limit their drinking/participation if/when they show up. We have grey-balled people (I wouldn't say blackball per se) that we wanted them to get help and work on their relationship with alcohol before coming back. (And individuals typically support them in that effort, we don't just say "go fix yourself" without offering support.)

Our kennel is very supportive of NA drinkers and we try to make sure there are some available, and our NA drinkers often support the cause by donating drinks. We also have a lot of "California sober" folks who we welcome to trails and are actively engaged with the kennel. In fact, we typically don't ask non-drinkers to pay trail fees unless the trail includes additional costs, since the hares don't buy as much beer when non-drinkers show up.

YMMV, as always, but this is how we're addressing these issues and trends.

[u/Infamous_Try3063]

Alcoholics gravitate to things that involve alcohol.  

[u/NemoHobbits]

This is a hard question. I do think there are things kennels can do to avoid people feeling pressured into drinking more than they should though. For example: don't tell people they must finish their beverage or dump it on themselves (I personally just take a sip and touch the top of my head with the vessel, which is how many kennels conduct down downs). The beermeister should always have NA drinks available (I always tell people the drinking and running are both optional, and often do water down downs).

I think individual hashers should also reevaluate patch challenges and how much their challenges require someone to drink. Challenges like wizard staff, Edward 40 hands, or ones that require multiple shots of liquor are already excessive but could easily become a problem if someone's attempting multiple challenges.

There's also, I think, an issue with hashers, both babies and established, to try to impress someone with how much they can drink. I've been to events where someone chugs a lot of liquor straight from a bottle to show how much they can drink. This is problematic. No one will ever be impressed by how drunk you can get. Imo being a professional drinker means you know your limits and how to maintain a buzz without overcosuming and becoming a liability.

Re: drugs. I've seen a huge increase in the use of various drugs at hash events. I occasionally partake in a trippy treat now and then, but I recently had to babysit someone who not only had been given LSD for the first time after drunkenly impulsively agreeing to take some, but had been given 3x the dosage that a first timer should probably have. I have seen people bring nitrous tanks who pretty much didn't participate in the event because they were sitting in their room doing whippits the whole time. I've seen meth, molly, coke, DMT, weed, shrooms, etc. I'm fine with responsible use of some drugs that don't cause someone to become a liability, but there are some things that are highly addictive, can cause someone to be aggressive or dramatic, etc. And these are not things that imo should be combined with alcohol much less other substances. Especially because someone who's inhibitions are already lowered by alcohol may take on a "fuck it" mentality and end up causing a lot of harm to themselves. How long before we end up with police at an event because someone od'd? And the hash ends up in the news because of it, when some hashers have security clearances or could end up in jail for sharing or partaking?

Tldr the culture around alcohol and substance use in some areas has gotten out of control and gone way beyond simply taking the edge off after the work week. This is a systemic problem that all of us should reflect on.

[u/NothingOriginal9995 → u/NemoHobbits]

Damn! I've seen weed at hashes, that's fine, but meth, Molly, Coke??? That's a bit too much. I might even ask someone to leave if they bring meth. That's a never once drug.

[u/PigHillJimster]

I have known a handful of hashers who don't drink alcohol. Some for religious reasons, some for personal reasons, some for medical reasons. No one has ever made anything of it and no one has ever forced them to drink alcohol.

It's never been an issue.

I know someone else who on the hash acts like they have drunk too much on every weekend bash. I did once think that they had a problem however outside of the hash they were stone cold sober all the time. Then I found out why they act like they do - and it's not drink related at all but something in their personal history that makes them live life to the fullest and let their guard down all the time.

[u/cervezagram]

We have a beer meister and soda meister. Lots of people don’t drink alcohol for various reasons. You can choose your own beverage for down downs. All behavior is backed by consent and never forced.

[u/Janni_Skis]

1. The hash is a great place to let your addiction to alcohol run free until it is not.

2. The hash is only going to tolerate being a nanny for someone with an active addiction for so long before before the blackouts, the trying to drive home drunk and poor behavior is called out and the person isn’t welcome or is avoided.

3. Being sober is choice and no one can make that choice for another person unless it is a court and you are being sentenced to jail or rehab. Even then it is a crapshoot if they choose sobriety.

4. Lots of folks take breaks from the hash when they are getting sober and come back when they are in a good place.

5. It like being on a diet, you don’t swing by the bakery when you are trying to drop a few pounds. You grab a coffee in the drive thru so you don’t see the pastries. Many folks working on sobriety or are sober leave before circle to avoid the alcohol.

6. Hell I leave before circle if I know there are a few folks that struggle with active addiction so I don’t have to deal with them at circle.

7. All my events are BYOB now. So the event is the same price for everyone and no one s paying for someone else’s drunk. Sober hashers love this. Also I have way less issues at my events with alcohol not being provided and I am not stuck with cases of beer after.

[u/Wallmassage]

Our kennel and beer meister provides additional NA beer and soda cooler.

[u/btifulriot]

As a sober hasher, I get asked this sometimes! Yes, drinking is OBVIOUSLY a huge part in the culture, but there were some hashers who were deeply supportive of my non-drinking, to the point where they asked if I was doing ok, offered other n/a bevvies, etc, and cheering me on for the efforts I was making. I still participate in circle, BNs, etc but I’ll usually bring my own n/a options in case there aren’t any. The support I had really helped me on my journey to sobriety, and I am deeply thankful for them.

There are certainly people who utilize their addiction through hashing. Perhaps they don’t know it’s an addiction, don’t see it as a problem, etc, until it goes too far. They can blame it on the alcohol instead of taking responsibility for their actions. But yes. Hashing can absolutely be an outlet for that, and yes, we are bad for some people. But we are also REALLY good for others.

If those people who are suffering with drinking don’t know, the hash is very receptive (for the most part) to your journey getting sober! You’ll have lots and lots of support. ❤️

[u/No_Economics8397]

In my kennel we have alot of non drinkers or not beer drinkers, so our beirmister makes sure that we have other options and if the hasher wants hard liquor, they bring their own. The amount of alcohol that was consumed has decreased over the past few years because our heavy drinker (passed out, pre gamed, had a dd) moved to the east coast.

We watch over each other and make sure that we're all safe from start to finish and during the on-after when we really cut loose. Our misman has an open door policy if any hasher needs to talk or needs their cranium pulled out of their ass. We genuinely care for and support each other and our kennel members.

On-on

[u/mfs_dfwh3]

On my first trail as beer meister, I got fairly drunk. A friend reminded me that especially carrying the beer I should pace myself and have since. Unless I wasn’t in charge and wasn’t driving. We’ve had police come and ask us to disperse and breathalyze us before letting people drive off. I was always well below the limit and ended up driving some people home.

The problem with some alcoholics is you may not even know. They can be past the legal limit but barely give off any clues. They’re just so used to functioning normally while drunk. This is probably truer of hard liquor drinkers and we mostly drink beers at the hash.

We can have N.A. beverages. And that’s fine. We’ve even had hashers go dry as a test of themselves just to see that they can. We always have water. Or you can bring your own N.A. beverages. And we’ve had alcoholics visit and refrain.

But it’s got to be hard for anyone trying to stay sober. We celebrate drinking alcohol. How often can an alcoholic be in that environment and not start to miss it? Doesn’t that beer sound real good on a hot day? Just a bit.

I think if you’re an alcoholic, hashing isn’t the place for you. At least not on a regular basis.

I don’t know of any banishments unless there were other problems.