If you're getting your stuff from the street, you're not really self medicating. Self-medication involves a routine, however, street crap can hardly be considered routine. There are too many variants for it to be routine. Even if you're buying the GOOD stuff off the street, there's still too much variance. You need to be able to get the right strain when you need it, and understand what those particular strains are for. What happens if you're manic and you get some street stuff that is stimulating? Or if you're depressed and get some stuff that really brings you down even more? I self medicated with street stuff for 6 years, and it was really, really touch and go. I think it's a great medicine, but it needs to be administered correctly. It's like trying to self medicate with an SSRI, but taking a different SSRI every other day. It just doesn't work well at all. And unfortunately, weed has a way of convincing you you're fine without psych meds. You become calm, complacent, relaxed... but also dependent on the weed to achieve this - but to get those effects from cannabis, you have to use it continually, which brings the recreational effects that can be very undesirable in day to day life. You can get the stuff that makes you lazy, you have a hard time doing your work efficiently, keeping up with your responsibilities... Your reaction times are slower, your attention is clouded... you're more prone to workplace accidents in which you would be drug tested and not covered by workman's' comp, etc; driving becomes difficult, cognition decreases... and so on (if you can't control what strain you smoke you can't control the side effects -period). With psych meds, it's possible to be far more effective in your daily life without the haze of the high. Personally I think the only prescribed use in mental illness with pot should be to replace benzodiazapenes and nighttime tranquilizers, and PRN when you have a really bad episode. ~~~ sorry for the rambles