Marijuana scientist leaves U.S. after green card denial

Shimon Abta, a medical marijuana agronomist from Israel, left the U.S. last month to avoid deportation. Abta, 33, was denied a green card and deemed a drug trafficker for his work in the cannabis industry. Now, him and his wife, Esther Abta, a U.S. citizen, are seeking to reopen his case. Abta’s attorney, Ed Prudhomme, said it’s his first marijuana-related immigration case in half a century. The orthodox Jewish couple hoped to start a home in Las Vegas. They recently became homeowners. “I have to say that this is part of God’s plan,” Esther Abta, 36, said.