The Department of Health said registration by consultants and their patients on the Cannabis for Medical Use Register, to be operated by the Health Service Executive, would be required for the prescribing of cannabis-based products under the scheme.
The parents of an epileptic two-year-old are paying £1k a month for medical cannabis they cannot get on the NHS.
Zimbabwe recently scrapped rules requiring sole state ownership for cannabis farming to encourage investment in the plant for industrial and medicinal uses.
Zimbabwe is a country defined by a history of heavy-handed land seizures.
Those previously convicted of drug offences will not be allowed to apply.