Researchers had previously said it is almost impossible for people who smoke large amounts of cannabis to overdose on the drug

Alcohol was the deadliest drug, followed by heroin, cocaine and tobacco

Scientists then combined that figure with what

Smoking marijuana is 114 times safer than drinking alcohol.

This is according to an international study which claims the plant may be 'significantly' less harmful than scientists believe.

On an individual level, the study found that alcohol was the deadliest drug when it comes to the likelihood of a person dying from a high dose.

The study found that alcohol was the deadliest drug when it comes to the likelihood of a person dying. The next most deadly substances are heroin and cocaine, followed by tobacco, ecstasy, and methamphetamine

The next most deadly substances are heroin and cocaine, followed by tobacco, ecstasy, and methamphetamine.

The results of the study were based on estimating the typical human intake of each drug and combining that figure with the lethal dose.

'The results confirm that the risk of cannabis may have been overestimated in the past,' Professor Dirk Lachenmeier at the Chemical and Veterinary Research Office Karlsruhe wrote in Scientific Reports.

'At least for the endpoint of mortality, the [margin of exposure] for THC/cannabis in both individual and population-based assessments would be above safety thresholds.

'In contrast, the risk of alcohol may have been commonly underestimated.'

Overall, the study found that smoking marijuana is 114 times safer than drinking alcohol. Marijuana legalisation supporters have used the study to suggest that existing bans on the drug are misguided

Cannabis was the only drug in the study that posed a 'low' mortality risk, with most users using less than 1/150th of the amount that would kill them.

Last year Wayne Hall of the World Health Organisation said it's nearly impossible for even those who smoke large amounts of cannabis to overdose on the drug.

'The estimated fatal dose [of THC, the primary active compound in marijuana] in humans derived from animal studies is between 15 and 70 grams,' Hall wrote in the Washington Post.

'This is a far greater amount of cannabis that even a very heavy cannabis user could use in a day.'

Marijuana legalisation supporters have used the study to suggest that existing bans on the drug are misguided. The authors of the report also seem to share this view.

'Currently, the MOE results point to risk management prioritisation towards alcohol and tobacco rather than illicit drugs,' the study reads.

'The high MOE values of cannabis, which are in a low-risk range, suggest a strict legal regulatory approach rather than the current prohibition approach.'