The MAcro Dose
THE DOSE — MACRO DOSE EDITION
November 2025: War Drums, Hemp Shocks, Psychedelic Hopes & the Age of Everyday AI
Welcome Message & Macro Affirmation
Welcome, Sykonauts, to your November 2025 Macro Dose.
Take a deep breath through the chaos dashboard: wars grinding on, Congress sneaking bans into shutdown bills, humanoid robots getting hired faster than interns, and psilocybin inching toward the clinic.
Affirmation for the Month:
“In a world optimized for distraction, your attention is capital. Invest it where it compounds: in truth, in healing, in community.”
We zoom out from the daily feed to look at the whole month’s signal—across global politics, psychedelics, cannabis, AI, mental health, and pop culture—building on the format and spirit of earlier Daily Dose editions.
GLOBAL NEWS
🌍 Global Finance – Sticky Inflation, AI Hype, and a Nervous Market
Markets spent November in classic late-cycle vibes: not crashing, just twitchy.
A global equities index slipped mid-month as investors realized the Fed probably won’t keep slicing rates forever; inflation is hanging around ~3%, and several Fed officials have started pushing back on hopes for deep cuts. Reuters+1
Macro shops and wealth managers flagged the same story: growth not collapsing, but slowing, with the IMF putting global GDP around 3.2% for 2025 and drifting lower into 2026. Pictet Asset Management+1
US stocks are still dominated by AI mega-caps, with concentration risk a recurring headline: big got bigger, while small caps and emerging markets look comparatively cheap but volatile. Morningstar
TL;DR: The global economy isn’t in freefall—it’s in a high-beta balancing act, where AI optimism, war risk, and stuck-above-target inflation all share the same conference room.
🏛 U.S. Politics – Shutdown Aftershocks and Quiet Structural Moves
November’s biggest U.S. political story for our ecosystem wasn’t a loud headline—it was a paragraph buried in a spending bill.
To reopen the federal government after a shutdown, Congress passed, and Trump signed, a spending package that slapped a near-ban on most intoxicating hemp-derived THC products nationwide, effective November 2026. Stateline+2Clark Hill+2
This “hemp crackdown” was pushed by a coalition of states and parts of the marijuana industry frustrated with delta-8/delta-10 style loopholes under the 2018 Farm Bill. It sets the stage for massive disruption in a sector worth tens of billions. AP News+1
In parallel, the Trump administration is still pushing a broad HHS restructuring, with mental health, digital health, and AI-driven tools very much implicated in the reorg debates. NBCC
Policy translation: quiet text, loud consequences—especially for cannabis and digital health.
🌐 International Affairs – War Fatigue Meets Fragile Peace Efforts
The global conflict story this month is a study in “ending without ending.”
In Ukraine, Russia escalated bombardment of energy infrastructure, launching massive drone and missile barrages that left hundreds of thousands without power in Kyiv and beyond. Al Jazeera+3Reuters+3The Guardian+3
At the same time, a renewed U.S.–Russia peace push produced a 28-point plan; Ukraine submitted a counter-proposal and sent a delegation to Washington, even as Kyiv dealt with internal corruption probes and leadership reshuffles. Reuters+1
In Gaza, an October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held through November but remains fragile. Analysts describe it as “the beginning of the end” of active fighting, not a true resolution—hostage exchanges concluded, but core political issues remain untouched. Reuters+1
Israel continued periodic strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, leaving civilians trapped in a kind of permanent limbo with ongoing displacement and trauma. Al Jazeera
This is geopolitics in 2025: less of a clean break, more of a chronic condition.
🖥️ Technology – AI Grows Up, Regulators Wake Up
AI stopped being a novelty this year; November was about the plumbing and guardrails.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued new guidelines on AI-assisted inventions: AI stays firmly a tool, not an inventor. Humans must still be the named inventors, even when generative systems do heavy lifting in the R&D workflow. Reuters
Generative AI use is exploding:
A St. Louis Fed analysis found work hours using generative AI grew from 4.1% to 5.7% of total U.S. labor hours in under a year. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Another survey showed 46% of U.S. internet adults now use generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. Adoption is especially surging among older adults. S&P Global
Business research from Wharton chronicled how firms are embedding AI into everything from strategy decks to customer support flows. Penn Today
On the consumer side, Prime Video dropped AI-generated recap videos, turning entire seasons of shows into auto-cut highlight reels with narration—basically machine-edited “Previously on…” episodes. TV Tech
In gaming, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney argued that “Made with AI” labels on storefronts like Steam are pointless, because AI will soon be everywhere in game production—like using a particular brand of shampoo. The Verge
Net effect: AI is moving from product feature to background infrastructure, and regulators are sprinting to keep it human-centred.
⚽ Sports & Pop Culture – Escapism with an Economic Edge
On the field, November brought the usual churn: college football playoff chaos, conference championships being set, and a rush of basketball and hockey headlines. Spectrum News 1+2Wisconsin Badgers+2
In pop culture economics, Taylor Swift’s concert film “Release Party of a Showgirl” continued to loom over 2025 box office conversations after its big October opening, reinforcing the data point we already know: a single touring artist can still move the entire theatrical ecosystem. Billboard+2Deadline+2
The bigger theme: attention is the new OPEC—a handful of artists and franchises can swing entire industries.
PSYCHEDELIC INDUSTRY
🧠 Breaking Through Mental Health Barriers
November didn’t bring an FDA approval yet, but the drumbeat got louder.
Compass Pathways reported a positive meeting with the FDA and expects an earlier than anticipated decision window on its psilocybin-based depression treatment, thanks to a rolling data submission plan. STAT
A widely circulated roundup of psychedelic trials highlighted BPL-003, a 5-MeO-DMT analog nasal spray with FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation, now marching toward phase 3 trials expected in 2026. HealingMaps
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham showcased “psychedelic-inspired” compounds—molecules tuned to tap the same receptor systems as LSD/psilocybin but potentially with lower hallucination burden and improved safety for depression and addiction. University of Alabama at Birmingham
The headline for clinicians: psychedelics are no longer fringe—they’re entering the serious therapeutic pipeline.
🏛 Legislative Landmarks – Policy Trying to Catch the Wave
Policy pieces in major medical journals and health forums stressed that the regulatory scaffolding is not ready:
A JAMA Health Forum article mapped the “gaps” in U.S. psychedelic policy: multiple classic psychedelics are deep in trials, MDMA is still under FDA review after a previous NDA rejection, and yet there’s no comprehensive framework for training, licensure, equity, or long-term safety tracking. JAMA Network+1
No huge new psychedelic law landed in November—but the conversation has clearly shifted from “Should psychedelics be allowed?” to “How do we roll this out without repeating the opioid era?”
📊 Industry Pulse – Capital, Caution & Consolidation
Investor decks now openly talk about “post-SSRI markets”, framing psychedelic and psychedelic-adjacent compounds as the next major class in psychiatry.
Larger health investors are watching not only classic compounds (psilocybin, MDMA) but non-trip-inducing analogs and combination therapies that integrate AI-guided therapy, biomarkers, and digital monitoring.
The ARPA-H EVIDENT initiative, while not explicitly psychedelic, promises up to $100M for better measurement and validation in behavioral health—data infrastructure that psychedelic medicine absolutely needs. ARPA-H
Translation: the science is hot, but the money is now asking harder questions about real-world outcomes, equity, and payer adoption.
💹 Stocks to Watch – Not Financial Advice, Just Reality Check
Without dishing stock tips, it’s fair to say:
Companies like Compass Pathways now trade as binary regulatory plays: a positive FDA outcome could reset the entire valuation paradigm for psychedelic biotech; a rejection would chill the sector for years. STAT+1
Smaller platforms working on “psychedelic-inspired” molecules, neuroplasticity compounds, and combo therapies are positioning themselves as “safer, payor-friendlier” Plan B if full psychedelic approvals move slowly.
For now, this is still clinical science with Wall Street overlays, not a mature pharma category.
CANNABIS INDUSTRY
🌱 Legalization Waves – The Hemp Hangover
The big November shockwave: intoxicating hemp is now on a federal countdown clock.
The government-reopening bill included a provision that will, in November 2026, effectively ban most consumable hemp-derived THC products—including many delta-8, delta-10, and “THC seltzer” products currently filling shelves. AP News+2Cannabis Business Times+2
States like Minnesota, which built regulated frameworks for hemp beverages with age limits, now face existential questions about entire business lines that pulled local breweries out of decline. AP News
We’ve moved from “too loose” to “maybe too blunt” at the federal level, and a scramble for more nuanced regulation is underway.
📈 Market Movements – Billions in the Crosshairs
Analysts estimate the intoxicating hemp segment is worth tens of billions in sales and hundreds of thousands of jobs, between manufacturers, distributors, and hospitality. AP News+1
The hemp side of the industry is warning of business wipeouts and grey-market spillover if bans go ahead without alternative legal pathways.
Traditional cannabis operators are divided: some lobbied for the crackdown (to close the Farm Bill loophole), others worry the backlash will contaminate wider reform efforts.
The market signal is clear: anything that looks like “legal THC in a convenience store” is now under maximum scrutiny.
🏛 Political Pot – Banking on the Back Burner
Hopes for a federal cannabis banking bill dimmed as November updates from D.C. described it as effectively “on the back burner,” with no meaningful movement as the year closes. Marijuana Moment+1
Litigation is ramping: an $80M lawsuit over hemp beverage sales against DoorDash and Total Wine may set precedents for delivery platform liability in cannabis/hemp commerce. Holland & Hart
Policy KPI: risk is rising faster than access is improving.
🔬 Industry Innovations – Hemp Seltzers, Low-Dose Futures & Regulatory Whiplash
The innovation pipeline is still alive, but the risk profile changed overnight:
Craft brewers and beverage companies that pivoted into THC seltzers as alcohol sales softened now face regulatory rug pulls. AP News
Product teams are exploring:
Lower-dose, state-compliant THC beverages.
Non-intoxicating CBG/CBN-focused “functional” drinks.
Tighter ID verification, packaging, and age-gating.
We’re watching a live A/B test: can regulators thread the needle between youth protection, adult autonomy, and economic reality?
AI & ROBOTICS
🧬 AI in Healthcare – Data, Not Hype
ARPA-H’s EVIDENT program will pump up to $100M into rigorous measurement and validation tools for mental and behavioral health treatments, including digital and AI-augmented options. ARPA-H
At the same time, the American Psychological Association warned that AI chatbots and wellness apps are not a magic bullet; there’s not enough evidence, oversight, or safety infrastructure to treat them as replacements for care. American Psychological Association
Net: AI can amplify good care, but right now it also amplifies confusion.
🧠 Generative AI – From Toy to Tool to Backbone
This month’s generative AI story is simple: it’s everywhere.
Adoption is soaring at work and at home, as noted by Fed economists and private survey data. Consultancy ME+3Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis+3S&P Global+3
Streaming platforms like Prime Video are turning it into story-compression infrastructure, auto-building recap videos that used to require whole teams of editors. TV Tech
Adobe and Qualcomm teamed up with Saudi-backed startup Humain to build Arabic-focused generative AI, blending Firefly tech with region-specific language models—an example of AI going deeply local, not just bigger. MarketingProfs
We’re clearly out of the “fun demo” stage. This is process-optimization AI now—sitting quietly behind knowledge bases, call centers, and creative workflows.
🤖 Robotic Revolution – Humanoids Hit the Mainstream
November was wild for humanoid robots:
Tesla lost key AI staff to Sunday Robotics, whose home robot “Memo” can fold socks and load dishwashers using a new robotic AI model, ACT-1, designed to handle complex tasks with minimal training data. Business Insider
China’s economic planners publicly warned of a humanoid robot investment bubble, citing more than 150 companies chasing similar hardware with limited proven use cases—a red flag for frothy capital markets. The Verge
Apptronik, an Austin robotics startup, hit a $5B valuation, with Mercedes and Google testing its humanoid Apollo robots in production lines. Austin American-Statesman
Chinese firms like Xpeng showed off humanoids so lifelike that they literally cut one open onstage to prove no human was inside. Live Science
A Chinese robot, A2, walked over 66 miles in a Guinness-certified world record, while separate demos showed warehouse tasks completed autonomously by humanoids powered by Anthropic’s Opus 4.5. ABC News+1
Pair that with studies showing warehouse automation can expand headcount in some settings, not just replace it, and we’re clearly in a reconfiguration phase, not a simple “robots vs humans” binary. Robotics 24/7+1
🌍 AI for Good & Technological Milestones
Logistics, warehousing, and supply chains are becoming the favorite playgrounds for applied AI and robotics, with autonomous forklifts, robotic picking, and human-collab systems rolling out. Northeastern Global News+2Logistics Business+2
Thought leaders are increasingly calling for “robots backward-compatible with the real world”—systems that drop into existing human environments instead of demanding fully automated “lights-out” factories only rich giants can afford. DCVC
If 2023–24 was about chatbots, 2025 is clearly about bodies and buildings—how AI inhabits the physical world.
MENTAL & EMOTIONAL HEALTH
🌼 Wellness Innovations – Systems, Not Just Apps
The World Health Organization released new guidance urging countries to integrate mental health into all government sectors: housing, education, labor, justice—not just healthcare. It’s a call to treat mental health as infrastructure, not an afterthought. World Health Organization
ARPA-H’s EVIDENT initiative (again) is part of this trend: funding not another mindfulness app, but measurement tools and rigorous validation to sort the actually-helpful from the nicely-branded. ARPA-H
The shift is subtle but huge: from “download this” to “re-design the system.”
🗣️ Access & Advocacy – AI Isn’t a Free Therapist
The APA warned that despite the hype, AI wellness apps and chatbots can’t solve crises of access, affordability, and structural inequity. They lack robust evidence, standardized regulation, and clear accountability when things go wrong. American Psychological Association
Professional organizations for counselors and therapists continued pushing for better reimbursement, more training funding, and safeguards as AI and teletherapy expand. NBCC
The message: tools help, but policy decides who heals.
🔍 Research & Insights – Better Data on Minds Under Pressure
November’s journals and reviews dropped a lot of signal:
New analyses showed placebo response rates differ significantly across psychiatric disorders, with depression and anxiety showing especially strong placebo effects—crucial context for evaluating psychedelic trials and other novel treatments. Psychiatric Times
APA-linked journals highlighted new work on:
Predictors of alcohol use disorder.
Youth mental health trajectories and suicide risk.
Treatment engagement patterns in real-world settings. American Psychiatric Association+1
A JAMA Psychiatry study validated an automated treatment decision rule that can help assign older adults with depression to the most appropriate psychosocial intervention—an early example of algorithmic support for personalized care that doesn’t instantly jump to meds. JAMA Network
Science is getting more precise about who benefits from what—and that precision will shape how psychedelics, cannabis, and AI tools get integrated into actual care.
Mindful Moment – Integrating the Macro Dose
November 2025, in one breath:
War continues, but peace plans are on the table.
Markets wobble, but the world keeps building.
Psychedelic medicine edges closer to the clinic.
Hemp and cannabis take a regulatory body blow.
AI and humanoid robots move from sci-fi to operations, raising serious questions about labor, ethics, and identity.
Mental health finally starts being treated like the foundation, not the wallpaper.
Mindful Moment:
“You are not just a consumer of this chaos—you are a participant in how it unfolds. Curate your inputs. Choose your causes. Protect your nervous system. The macro story is written by millions of micro decisions.”
Stay tuned. Stay discerning. Stay kind to your bandwidth.
— The Dose, November 2025 Macro Edition
