Kent residents favor measured approach to legalized cannabis

KENT — More than 460 Kent residents made their voices heard on cannabis retail and cultivation in a recent town survey.

Sarah Chase, chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Cannabis Regulation Subcommittee, presented the findings of the survey — which are publicly available on the town website — at the group’s April 3 special meeting.

In her executive summary, she concluded that “the data reflects a cautious but open-minded community — one that supports medical access, values farming traditions, and seeks to preserve the unique character of Kent.”

The survey received responses from approximately 10% of the town’s population.

Results showed support for the cultivation of hemp products with 54% in approval.

For retail sales, 44% of responses indicated disapproval of recreational cannabis businesses, while only 29% were in favor.

In total, 79% of respondents felt Kent should maintain its rural and agricultural identity when weighing the impacts of the cannabis growing and retail industries.

The survey indicated a desire in town for a highly controlled approach by establishing strict zoning regulations surrounding cannabis facilities.

Chase said that the survey “provides clear insight into public sentiment” and creates a “valuable foundation” upon which the commission can regulate cannabis growth and sale.

Chase drafted an ordinance that the subcommittee will present to the full P&Z commission at its April 10 meeting alongside the survey results.

At the April 10 meeting, P&Z is expected to vote on a six-month extension of the current moratorium on cannabis retail, which is due to expire soon.

Latest News

Angela Derrico Carabine

SHARON — Angela Derrick Carabine, 74, died May 16, 2025, at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was the wife of Michael Carabine and mother of Caitlin Carabine McLean.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Katri (St Bernards Church) Church. Burial will follow at St. Bernards Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found on the website of the Kenny Funeral home kennyfuneralhomes.com.

Revisiting ‘The Killing Fields’ with Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston

Jennifer Almquist

On June 7 at 3 p.m., the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will host a benefit screening of “The Killing Fields,” Roland Joffé’s 1984 drama about the Khmer Rouge and the two journalists, Cambodian Dith Pran and New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, whose story carried the weight of a nation’s tragedy.

The film, which earned three Academy Awards and seven nominations — including one for Best Actor for Sam Waterston — will be followed by a rare conversation between Waterston and his longtime collaborator and acclaimed television and theater director Matthew Penn.

Keep ReadingShow less
The art of place: maps by Scott Reinhard

Scott Reinhard, graphic designer, cartographer, former Graphics Editor at the New York Times, took time out from setting up his show “Here, Here, Here, Here- Maps as Art” to explain his process of working.Here he explains one of the “Heres”, the Hunt Library’s location on earth (the orange dot below his hand).

obin Roraback

Map lovers know that as well as providing the vital functions of location and guidance, maps can also be works of art.With an exhibition titled “Here, Here, Here, Here — Maps as Art,” Scott Reinhard, graphic designer and cartographer, shows this to be true. The exhibition opens on June 7 at the David M. Hunt Library at 63 Main St., Falls Village, and will be the first solo exhibition for Reinhard.

Reinhard explained how he came to be a mapmaker. “Mapping as a part of my career was somewhat unexpected.I took an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS), the technological side of mapmaking, when I was in graduate school for graphic design at North Carolina State.GIS opened up a whole new world, new tools, and data as a medium to play with.”

Keep ReadingShow less