Sure thing, although I would argue the increased evolutionary fitness would be very small. The fact that they roll in it vs just inhaling it to me also suggests this.
Maybe their use of the word "functional" is different than mine, and we're saying the same thing. But to me there's a big difference from saying e.g. "Our findings suggest that chimps using sticks to dislodge food is a functional behavior."
I mean, have you ever heard of someone high on THC acting belligerent? I sure haven't. Alcohol, meth, cocaine, bath salts, everything else, absolutely. Ask a cop how often he gets called for a DV issue because someone is drunk.
But weed? Nah. People on weed just want to eat pretzels and watch cartoons.
People smoke weed all the time and it decreases violence. But that’s not why they do it.
Chances are just as good that the insect repellant is just a nice side effect of these cats getting high, not the other way around.