30 year smoker here and just quit. I know I was self medicating for the BP with the pot. Now on mood stablizers so I quit the pot 25th day WOOT.
Good Luck to you

Ron

im bipolar and i used to smoke to self-medicate but quit when i got put on the right medicine. my bf is now in rehab to help him quit smoking pot and he's also bipolar. and he DID suffer psychosis and extreme anxiety. there's no garuantee that it wasnt just him but when he's clean..he doesnt suffer those symptoms.

I'm not Bipolar, but I do know that pot causes anxiety and paranoia, blah, blah, blah, (as you put it) in people who aren't bipolar. That being said, I wouldn't think pot would help your situation. I think all bonafide potheads are self medicating for something whether they want to admit it or not. Some of them don't even realize it. They think "I'm fine, I'm normal. What could I possibley be self medicating for?" I don't know. You need to quit smoking pot to figure that out and believe it.
Anyway, Pot has side effects whether you are bp or not.

I'm bipolar, or so I'm told, and I occasionally smoke weed. Only a few months ago, I smoked it like crazy and for the longest time, but these days, I rarely do.

I honestly don't think it affected me negatively in any way as far as my mental state goes. I used it to self medicate. I was afraid if I didn't smoke to calm myself down and relax, I would kill myself or at the very least, cut myself. No medication or amount of medication has ever helped me when the loneliness and fear of night has grasped me, but weed worked. Now, my meds have me pretty leveled out, all except for the delusions ugh! I'm hoping and praying those horrid nights won't return because if they do, I'm certain i'll be self medicating again rather than occasionally smoking or drinking just for the hell of it.

im bipolar and i smoke pot.. the only side effect is it does make me more moody sometimes