Camden pharmacy to open first-of-its-kind marijuana dispensary

CAMDEN — Bell Pharmacy has been serving Camden's Parkside neighborhood since 1931, the city's oldest continually operating independent pharmacy.

When Bell's doors first opened at the corner of Kaighn and Haddon avenues, Albert Einstein and Edwin Hubble were researchers at California Institute of Technology; Bela Lugosi was starring in the first Dracula movie; construction of the Empire State Building had just ended and had just begun on Rockefeller Center; "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the U.S. national anthem; and marijuana had yet to be federally banned, so pharmacies like Bell sold cannabis products.

Bell will soon begin selling marijuana and cannabis products again: Once it receives state approval, Anthony Minniti and his sister and Bell co-owner Marian Morton will begin offering medicinal marijuana through the pharmacy's existing storefront; in a renovated two-story building adjacent to the pharmacy, Camden Apothecary will sell cannabis and marijuana products meant for recreational users.

It is, said Minniti, the first time a recreational dispensary will be connected to a pharmacy in the U.S., though they will operate as two separate businesses.

"We took this on based on our customers' feedback," he explained. Older people began asking Minniti, a pharmacist, about medical marijuana to help with aches, pains and chronic conditions, seeking more natural alternatives to powerful pain medications.

"The closest dispensary is in Bellmawr," he added, a challenge for people who may not be able to drive or have access to a car. "People with (medicinal marijuana) cards would ask if they can get it here.

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