Misleading Reputations re. Strains

Here's a problem I see time and time again as I try to educate myself on strains. One website will state that a specific strain is sativa dominant. Another says it's indica dominant. Example: White Widow...it's sativa dominant, right? Not according to according to Marijuanstrains.com or SensiSeeds. They say it's an indica dominant hybrid. Then you go to white-widow-seeds.com, and they say it's 60:40 sativa to indica. I come across this sort of contradiction all the time. So, for those of us who may want to smoke an indica dominant hybrid, it's hard to know which strain fits the bill unless you do extensive investigating.
That's problem #1.

Problem #2 is the contradictory info you get from differing seed companies. Some will tell you that a strain is mostly indica, while others say the opposite. I'm concluding that some of these companies therefore feel it's one way, while others feel the strain is a different way. Is it that hard for them to tell? Maybe so.

Problem #3: A hybrid plant can have a low and bushy structure (an indica habit) with thick indica looking leaves, and yet it can deliver a high with is more sativa like. There goes the visual I.D. guess.

Problem #4: Growers casually pass cuttings along to other growers, telling them that the strain is indica "X", for example. Along the way, someone pollinates the female flower with a sativa male they're growing. So...as the lineage continues to get passed along, and growers continue to call it "X" or "mostly X" it is, in fact, some unknown hybrid.

Why is all of this a problem? Well, in a perfect world we'd always be able to sample our weed first. That's not how it goes though.

It's hard to know what to buy or what to ask your grower to grow for you (I'm a med marijuana patient in Oregon). Mine is growing Purple Widow (white widow x purple power) for this year's summer harvest. So...what will it be??? Mostly indica? Mostly sativa (which makes my heart race...not good at my age)? Will I wind up with something I can't smoke? I guess I'll find out soon.

Any veterans of pot (perhaps breeders) care to weigh in on this subject? Is there anything close to an authoritative voice or reference on this matter??? Write me at [email protected] if you like.

Omakeekee