Everyone — including Rand — knew its study saying crime went up when marijuana clinics closed smelled funny, but now Rand has fully retracted the work. It turns out that the study of crime stats released by one of the nation's most highly regarded research institutions failed to include (cough) any data from the LAPD. "They made mistakes," said Debra Knopman, a Rand vice president and director of the infrastructure, safety and environment division. "What we're wrestling with is how the mistakes went undetected." From the LAT:
The discredited report went through an internal and an external peer review."This is not something we take lightly," Knopman said. "This is a rare event, but it's happened, and it's absolutely leading us to take a renewed look at the procedures we follow."
LA Observed photo