Can marijuana work as an antidepressant?

Quite a history but here goes- In High School I was generally successful , had a core group of good friends, and involved in a lot of activities and sports. But I always had issues with depression and anxiety. I felt like I was never fulfilling my potential, had trouble focusing, couldn't communicate well with other people, and constantly had feelings of depression. Whenever I was around new people I was unable to function on a social level, and that caused me a lot of pain and anxiety. Singing and writing lyrics in a Rock Band gave me an outlet for these feelings. Eventually, like most high-schoolers, I started drinking on the weekends, and with a family history of alcoholism I abused alcohol pretty badly, eventually to the point where I was drinking on weeknights too. But life was still manageable. I just felt very repressed unless I was binge drinking. The summer of senior year I began smoking weed and my whole perspective was changed. I met all sorts of new and interesting people, felt I was able to relax and communicate for the first time, became very interested in all sorts of new things, joined a traveling acting group, and discovered new and exciting limits with my creative abilities. While still maintaining an active social life I began smoking everyday and basically stopped my drinking habits. It was probably one of the best times of my life until I decided to stop smoking for awhile because my family disapproved of it. Upon stopping smoking I went into a deep, deep depression. I had no energy or will to live and I withdrew from society and was holed up in solitude for a long time. All my old anxieties and insecurities around people returned tenfold. This carried over to my college life, where my social insecurities and depression made it miserable and excruciating. I maintained decent grades but had only one real friend (roommate) and basically had no life... Until I started smoking again. All the enlightenment returned and I hung out with a lot of cool people. Motivation and energy returned as long as I maintained a reasonable dosage everyday. My grades went from B's to A's. I decided to stop again and once again I entered a terrible period of depression (namely my present situation). As long as I smoked a bit everyday, things were good. So my question raised is: Can marijuana (used responsibly) be used as an antidepressant? Or is this just a bad mental addiction that I am getting myself into? Personally I am scared of the amphetamines, antidepressants, and barbiturates being prescribed by psychiatrists and am seeking other ways to improve my mental condition to thrive socially, creatively, and academically in the rigors of this day and age . Rather than a judgement on any sort of preference I would like this to be an open-minded debate on the growing issue of mental health. Any intelligent, rational input would be appreciated.