Groups spend late in marijuana fight

Two political committees battling over a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana combined to spend about $1.5 million from Oct. 18 through Thursday, with much of the money going to advertising-related expenses, new campaign finance reports show. A committee known as "People United for Medical Marijuana," which has helped lead efforts to pass Amendment 2 on Tuesday's ballot, spent $837,733 during the period. Meanwhile, an anti-pot group known as the "Drug Free Florida Committee" spent $658,448, according to the reports filed Friday with the state Division of Elections. People United for Medical Marijuana had spent a total of $7,422,513 as of Oct. 30, but much of that was spent last year and in early 2014 as the group collected petition signatures to get the proposed amendment on the ballot. The Drug Free Florida Committee had spent a total of $6,241,221 as of Oct. 30, but most of its spending came late in the campaign. Starting in mid-September, the Drug Free Florida group spent about $5.65 million, while People United for Medical Marijuana spent about $1.93 million, according to the Division of Elections website.