"The blue part of the Woad is not any sort of hallucinogen, despite lore to the contrary. The raw sap crushed from fresh Woad leaves sometimes causes surface skin numbness, slight dizziness, and in certain bloodlines, a vague impression of less danger or more confidence.

Is woad a drug?

Woad, known as Banlangen (板蓝根) (de) in Chinese, is used as an herbal medicinal tea in China for colds and tonsular ailments. Used as a tea, it has a brownish appearance and (unlike most Chinese medicines) is mildly sweet in taste.

Why did the Celts use woad?

Julius Caesar once noted that the Celts got blue pigment from the woad plant and that they used it to decorate their bodies. ... It has also been theorized that the real use of woad was perhaps intended to heal the scars after the battle.