Those in favour of cannabis legalisation often claim that there are no reported cannabis induced deaths. It is important to understand what this means. It means only that there are no reported deaths directly attributable solely and immediately to a toxic overdose of cannabis.
There are, however, cannabis related deaths. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports a total of 184 cannabis related deaths for the five years 1997-2001. ABS breaks these figures down into: 68 Mental (i.e., mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use); 98 Accidental (i.e., accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances); 11 Suicide (i.e., intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to drugs); 7 Undetermined (i.e., drug-related deaths with undetermined intent).
Australian figures separating cannabis-related deaths where cannabis was the only drug involved are not readily available. Cannabis is often one factor in a poly-drug cocktail that causes death, including cannabis in combination with alcohol.
United States data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, based on those counties in which medical examiners test for cannabis, indicates that out of 664 reported cannabis related deaths in 1999 some 28% or 187 involved cannabis only. (This would suggest an average of 10 deaths per year in Australia that were cannabis related only.)
United Kingdom data report some cannabis related deaths that were caused by inhalation of vomit while intoxicated only on cannabis.