| Discussion-- One cause of hallucinations is the use of drugs called hallucinogenics. Hallucinogenics affect the central nervous system in a way that causes users to perceive their world in an altered state. This can be a very dangerous state to be in, as the users are responding to stimuli in their environment that do not really exist. As a result, users of hallucinogenics are greatly unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
We often use the term hallucination in an exaggerated way when we see something that we can't quite believe, i.e. "I must be hallucinating! My son can't be doing the dishes!" Or we might use the word to ridicule someone else who is trying to show us something that we don't see, but they do. For example, if someone were to say to me, "Look, that cloud looks just like a naked Drew Carey," I might respond by saying, "First of all, you must be hallucinating. Second of all, you are one sick puppy."
I myself have never experienced a hallucination, but I suspect that if I did I would see something pretty strange. I would be the guy who was driving down the road, only to be passed by a Saint Bernard, driving a Porsche, as he smokes a cigar and keeps the beautiful young blonde sitting next to him company. The Saint Bernard would then turn to me and say, "If you drove a brand new Porsche instead of that '84 Honda, you might be half as cool as me." I would then continue driving down the road, inhaling the Porsche's dust, trying to convince myself that the backfire emitted from my automobile was merely a hallucination.
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