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Are these the same reserchers that show that gun bans work?

No, these are the same researchers that show that gun bans don't work. An example from each:

Violence, Guns and Drugs: A Cross-Country Analysis
Vioence rates differ dramatically across countries. A widely held view is that these differences reflect differences in gun control and/or gun availability, and certain pieces of evidence appear consistent with this hypothesis. A more detailed examination of this evidence, however, suggests that the role of gun control/availability is not compelling.
Crime and the Drug War
Disparities between the poor and the rich are often considered causes of our high crime rate, but the United States has not only one of the world's highest crime rates, but also one of the world's largest middle classes. The religious right claims America's huge crime rate is caused by a break-down of family values. This would require family values breaking down suddenly in 1907, returning in 1933, and suddenly breaking down again in 1964. Many liberals believe that America's large crime rate is due to our lack of gun-control laws, but America's gun-control policy has changed little throughout this century. There is no way gun control can explain the enormous fluctuations in America's homicide rate. The United States government's substance control policies are the only answer. The only way to lower America's violent crime rate, short of turning the United States into a totalitarian state, is through ending the War on Drugs.

I have no doubt that legalization would lead to lessen some crimes. There would be less smuggling for starters. The Europeans are living through a crime wave right now that is growing and growing at an inverse rate to their drug enforcement. One might ask why people in a nanny state would commit such crimes, especially with cheap drugs?

Rising unemployment rates might be a good place to start looking for your answer. Crime rates are influenced by many factors. Looking at a change in drug policy in some country and then seeing if anything changes without looking at other confounding factors is worthless.

That is why research, like that I linked above, is so valuable. It controls for other factors which influence the crime rate, and concludes that they alone do not account for the difference.