Bell Pharmacy in Camden County looking to open a marijuana dispensary

A New Jersey pharmacy is looking to make history as the first in the country to operate as a drug store and marijuana dispensary for medical and recreational cannabis.

Bell Pharmacy, located at 1201 Haddon Avenue in Camden County, N.J., is waiting to be approved for an annual cannabis license, KYW reported. Because the store has two legal addresses, it makes it easier to operate both businesses.

This would be the first cannabis dispensary in the city of Camden. Bell has operated since 1931 and is renovating its second floor to add the marijuana dispensary. The project is a full circle moment for a business that sold weed to customers during the 30s before alcohol prohibition in the United States. 

“We’re doing something that’s never been done not only in the state but not done anywhere. And that is the idea of a pharmacy also serving as a cannabis dispensary,” Bell Pharmacy owner Tom  Minniti told NBC10. 

Minniti added that the idea came from customers asking why he did not sell marijuana, which became legal during the 2020 election. The legal sale officially started in April 2022 for adults 21 and older.

He said the project is two-fold: “One, some of the older people in our neighborhood wanted to come in with their parents asking if we have medical cannabis. It’s something that I never really contemplated.” And the second part is the access for recreational users for vapes, gummies, and edibles.

Minniti anticipates that the approval will come sometime in March, and he…