Turns out that we're both kind of right. The medication in syrups are given in a sugary format because sugar has been proven to coat the pharynx and upper respiratory tract, the effects of which last around two hours. Around this time, the drugs given in syrup begin to act, usually by increasing the output of respiratory tract fluid. That's why it isn't recommended that you take a full dose of cough syrup every couple of hours. One of the articles can be found here:
http://www.bmj.com/content/2/4480/735.full.pdf
And a 20-year old guy from Portland apparently isolated enough dextromethorphan from a couple of bottles of Robitussin to nearly kill himself. Cause, y'know, university kids are pretty smart, but in really stupid ways.
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