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And here, the analogy with drugs does break down, because drug-induced hallucinations are just that - hallucinations. They are not brought about by an external force (such as those induced by the Ring), but are a product of the drug acting on the user's brain.
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It seems to me more like Pavlov's Dog. Just being near a desired thing can fire neurotransmitters, giving you a physical (chemical) response. Hallucination as well is rather like a dream state, one can measure the brain activity and bodily functions (heart rate, muscle flexion, BP, respiration) that are active in sleep dreams, waking dreams 'daydreams', phobias, imaginings of all sorts. If the feelings serve a purpose (calmness, euphoria, pain relief) the phenomena of craving may set in - without ever having used a substance or touched an object.
Good points SaucepanMan.
My updated philosphy on all this is that individual behavior is similar to addict behavior, but
initial response, craving and corruption is sourced more from the Evil of the One Ring on a sliding scale of predisposition. Yeah, that sounds right to me. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
[ February 26, 2003: Message edited by: Tar-Palantir ]